Young Justice: War
by sonicking2004
Summary: This story takes place after the events of Young Justice: Invasion, and it includes my theories of what actually happened to Wally West during the last episode of the season. There is also a crossover chapter I published entitled Young Justice: War Smallville: Season 11 - Through the Looking Glass. Because it's a crossover, though, I had to submit it as a separate story.
1. 1) Too Fast

**Too Fast**

It's been over 3 months since the Reach's attempt to take over the Earth was foiled by the young protégées of the Justice League, who proved themselves as capable heroes in their own right; 3 months since they also thwarted the Reach's attempt to escape the Guardians' retribution by erasing the evidence of their transgression against the treaty (by erasing the Earth), though their heroic efforts apparently cost the life of a comrade & dear friend, Kid Flash a.k.a. Wally West. Since then, there has been no noticeable activity from the Light, save for Lex Luthor's continuing campaign to replace Tsang as Secretary General, but the both the Justice League & Young Justice know it's only a matter of time till the Light makes makes their next move. Until that time, they can only remain vigilant against all threats while they grieve those friends & loved ones they lost.

In the Watchtower's lounge, Tigress (Artemis) gazes thoughtfully out the viewport while Zatanna enters behind her.

"I'm calling it a night & grabbing a bite to eat. Wanna come along?" she asks. Tigress, who hasn't shifted her position since her friend had entered, replies cordially "No thanks, I'm fine. Have fun." Zatanna, with concern apparent on her face, approaches her friend. "It's been almost 4 months since, you know, the Reach. If you'd like to talk about it, I'm here." Tigress shifts her gaze down and sighs deeply before replying; "I appreciate it. Really. I just don't feel like talking about it right now." Zatanna, understanding her friend can't be pushed but unwilling to give up yet, sits down on a bench before continuing. "I know what you're saying, and I can appreciate that you feel a need to work through your feelings of loss on your own. It's just that….I know it's not the same. After all, my father is technically still alive. But as long as the spirit of Naboo refuses to release him, I'll never see my father again. Anytime I see Doctor Fate, it's just another painful reminder that my father's gone. If I didn't have you guys, I honestly don't know what I'd do with myself right now." Tigress, finally turning around, sees in Zatanna's face an echo of her own grief. Smiling sadly, she reaches down for Zatanna's hand, who takes it. "You know, I think that if we can steer clear of this topic of conversation, a small milkshake would be nice," to which Zatanna replies "Deal." As Zatanna starts to stand, a streak of motion with a faintly yellow hue tears through the lounge, accompanied by a mild wind blast that causes the plants & the ladies' hair to rustle, before exiting though the door as it closed. Zatanna, the first of them to partially get over the shock of this sudden occurrence asks, "What was that?"

In the Watchtower's mission room, Aqualad, Nightwing, & Robin are going over their own reports of recent activity while remotely consulting with members of the Justice League who are currently in various regions on and off Earth.

Aqualad: "We've recently put a stop to an number of different crimes, both super-powered & not, but none of it seems to have any connection to either the Light or the Reach."

Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), in orbit over OA, replies, "That's pretty much what our investigation came up with over here. Before being sentenced to OA's Lightcells, the Reach operatives in our custody were interrogated extensively. They insist that the Light had duped them into believing that they were acting as the Reach's agents and that they have no idea of what the Light's true objective is."

Nightwing, who's sitting in the chair before the monitors, nods then continues, "The only known Light agent that is apparently still active is Luthor, who's still on the campaign trail. He's currently way ahead in the polls, but it doesn't seem as though it's being manipulated by any other agent of the Light or any other 'partners'."

Superman, in the skies over Metropolis, shakes his head in disgust before countering, "I don't buy it. I can't believe that anyone would seriously consider voting for that snake Luthor of their own free will. How about that Gilbert Godfrey. He's been doing nothing but smearing our names, he supported the Reach, & he's still supporting Luthor. Could he possibly be another agent of the Light?"

Nightwing responds, "Possibly, but our investigation has yet to turn any definitive evidence that proves it. The only Light member we've found that he's had contact with is Luthor, and nearly all of that has been when the cameras are rolling."

Batman, from within the Batcave, responds "Then the only thing that we can do is keep digging & remain vigilant. I hate waiting for them to make the first move, as that put us at a distinct disadvantage, but until we find something that's all we can do. We can only hope that one of them slips up and tips their hand early. Keep us informed if you uncover any suspicious activity.

Robin nods & responds, "Will do, sir."

Batman then nods and says, "Very well, then. Dismissed," with which the teleconference windows close and are replaced by the usual global monitoring analysis screens.

Nightwing, who had ceded leadership of the team back to Aqualad after the Reach were apprehended but remained on as their analyst, stood up from the chair & turned back towards the others. "All right guys, now what do you say we…." Nightwing trailed off as he saw a mostly transparent yellow blur close to the chair he just vacated. As they watched, the chair began to make a buzzing noise that grew louder as it started to visibly vibrate. As the buzzing & vibration reached a peak, the chair blew apart in a shockwave of force that threw Robin, Nightwing & Aqualad against the walls. The blurry figure then streaked through the room, coming close to but apparently making no contact with all three of them, then disappeared through the door before it closed.

Aqualad, shaking the cobwebs out of his head, slowly stands and asks the others, "Are you all right? What just happened?" Nightwing, also recovering from the blast and his bewilderment by the lack of alarms, replies, "I'm fine, but it appears that we have an intruder in Watchtower." He starts to head to the console to manually activate the alarm, but is brought up short when Watchtower's alarms go off on their own. A female voice, accompanied by flashing red lights & the screeching of sirens, begins intoning "Intruder Alert: an unknown entity has been detected aboard Watchtower! Intruder Alert…."

Robin, dusting himself off & grabbing a Birdarang off his belt, says dryly, "Better late than never. Let's find this guy and get some answers." The others, with their weapons ready, nod & start to head towards the doors, but they don't get more than a couple of steps towards them before other members of Young Justice pour in; Zatanna & Tigress, Superboy (whose hair is more tousled than usual) followed closely by Miss Martian, and Static and Beast Boy right behind.

Superboy tensely asks, "What's going on?! Megan and I were….talking in the Gym when this…yellow…thing tore through the room, then a couple of minutes later the alarms start going off!"

Zatanna nervously adds, "The same thing happened in the Lounge"

Aqualad gestures towards the destroyed chair, calmly stating, "We've had our own encounter with our mysterious intruder. We don't yet know who or what it is, or why the sensors didn't pick up on it before now, but we will find ou…"

At that moment, Bart, in his Kid Flash costume, rushes in and excitedly (and VERY quickly) starts speaking, "Didyouseehim?! WhatamIsaying? Ofcourseyoucouldn'thaveseenhim! I'mthefastestonehereandevenIcouldbarelyseehim! How'dhegetsofastthough? Wait,noneofthatmattershere! He'sback! Thisissocrash!"

Aqualad, recovering from Kid Flash's sudden entrance and super-speed monologue, holds a hand up and says, "Whoa, Bart, slow down for a minute. Are you saying you know who our intruder is?"

Bart, still excited but visibly trying to slow down, says "Well duh, we all know him! It's Wally! _He's back_!"

* * *

A stunned silence, save for the Watchtower's alarms which are still blazing, grips the room. Then a flurry of voices, many of them angry, drown out even the sounds of the alarms, with only Nightwing not joining in the tirade.

Zatanna: "They must have different standards of humor back when you come from, but in this era that's just a sick joke!"

Superboy: "That yellow streak in the Gym, that was you, wasn't it?!"

Static: "Just give me one crack at him! That's all I ask!"

Tigress (in tears): "Bart, how can you say that?! Wally is…is…"

Bart, backed up against a wall, his hands held out in a placating gesture: "Guys, calm down, I'm not making this up! Or pulling a prank! I'm telling the truth here!"

The tirade carries on for a couple minutes longer. Finally Nightwing, turning away from the console, addresses the group in a low but firm tone of voice, "Everyone, stop. That's enough." Everyone stops arguing & turns to him, upon which he continues, "It looks like Bart was telling the truth."

Another stunned silence grips the room, during which it becomes apparent that the alarms have been silenced as well. Finally Tigress, her cheeks still stained with tears, breaks the silence; "What?"

Nightwing: "I was trying to figure out who could move around without our noticing them, as well as why there would've been a delay in the station's sensors picking them up. The only thing I could come up with is someone who can move as fast or faster than the Flash. Once Bart made his announcement, I had Watchtower slow down the security footage, though it had to be enhanced several times during the process due to the image & sound degrading beyond a certain speed. As it is, the quality isn't exactly the best, but it may provide us with some answers."

As Nightwing turns back towards the console, Watchtower's female voice, this time unaccompanied by lights or alarm sirens, intones "Recognizing: Superman, 01; Flash, 04; Captain Marvel, 15." The Leaguers' eyes first fall on the destroyed chair, then scan the faces of their young protégées, then finally fix on Nightwing and Aqualad. Superman, with a note of concern in his voice, asks them, "We detected the intruder alert from Watchtower. What happened?"

Nightwing responds, "It appears our intruder may, in fact, be Wally West." In shock, the Flash (Barry Allen) barks out, "What? Wally's alive?" Nightwing answers, "So it appears. Bart was the only one, apparently, who saw him clearly, but we were about to go over the enhanced security footage to get some answers."

Nightwing then turns back to the console, while everyone else gathers closer to get a better look at the display. After Dick makes a few adjustments on the controls, the footage appears on the large display. As he had mentioned, the video is somewhat degraded, with stray pixels freezing at random times, & the audio is sometimes staticy, but it's recognizably the footage from Watchtower's security cameras playing in extreme slow motion. The footage starts in the Lounge, with Tigress frozen in the moment where she's helping Zatanna stand back up. Suddenly, a golden portal opens close to the far wall and Wally, in his Kid Flash attire, comes stumbling out of it, upon which the portal promptly closes. He then stands up, looks around in stunned amazement, then yells out in jubilation, "I did it! I made it back! I never thought I'd make it back home!" He then notices his surroundings, "But I'm at Watchtower. Why'd I end up here? I was sure I was homing in on Artemis's presence. Oh well, Earth & Artemis is just a Zeta Tube away." He start to turn toward the door when he notices Tigress & Zatanna over by the viewport, "Oh Artemis, you're here! And Zatanna too! That's why I ended up here. I can't tell you just how much I missed you guys! But why are you dressed up in the Tigress outfit? I thought your cover got exposed when we sent the Reach packing." He then notices that neither of them has reacted to his presence, or even moved an inch since he first saw them, "Uh, Hello? Are you guys okay?" Wally then waves his hand back and forth in front of Tigress' face.

At this moment, back in the mission room, Tigress approaches the monitor and traces the lines of Wally's face with her finger, tears streaming down her face again. "Wally," she manages to choke out.

Back on the footage, Wally gazes at Tigress & Zatanna with concern. "Are you guys frozen?" he asks, then runs one quick circuit around the room, noticing that his speedy passage affected the items around it, though only subtly. "No, it doesn't look like it, more like everything in this room is slowed down. Probably a spell or something." He then starts to reach for Tigress, but then pulls his hand back. "No better not. The spell probably didn't affect me because I wasn't here when it was cast, but if I touch you guys then I might get pulled in." He then turns towards the open Lobby doors, saying, "Don't worry, I'll be back with help!". He then speeds out the doors.

The footage then shifts to one inside the Gym, where Superboy and Miss Martian are frozen in the moment of a passionate kiss. Back in the mission room, the eyes of everyone save Nightwing, Tigress and the Flash shift to Connor and Megan, who are blushing furiously. Bart's eyes, who are still bright with his earlier news, become even brighter. "Whoa, you guys are back together? This is so crash!" Connor, clearing his throat uncomfortably, gestures feebly at the monitor and says, "Well…uh….um….footage….Wally." Bart, with a start, says, "Oh, right right right. Of course," and with one last sly smile turns back toward the monitor.

Back on the footage, Wally dashes into the gym towards, then stops short as he realizes he's stumbled into a private moment. "Sorry guys, I don't mean to interrupt, but…." He then falters as he realizes that, like Tigress and Zatanna, Connor and Megan have failed to react to his sudden appearance. "Uh, guys? Aww, not you too!"

Back in the mission room, Nightwing begins to fast forward through the subsequent footage of Wally entering rooms that are empty or have people that are unaware of Wally's presence, like Static showing off for Beast Boy by using his powers to levitate various objects. Concentrating on the footage, Nightwing addresses the others, "It looks like this goes on for a while, relatively speaking. Ah, here we go." He then resumes the slow-motion playback at the footage of the mission room, where Nightwing had just finished the conference call and was frozen in the moment of turning towards the others and Wally is frantically trying to get the others' attention.

"Guys? Come on! Everyone seems to be frozen, I can't get anyone to hear me. I don't know how to fix this, I need your help!" Wally then reaches for the chair that Nightwing had just vacated, but rather than grabbing it as he had intended his hand vibrates through the top instead. In shock, Wally pulls his hand to his chest. "What?" As he watches, the chair starts to vibrate uncontrollably and fracture, starting with the area his had passed through & spreading quickly through the rest of the chair until the whole thing blows apart. "But…that's impossible! I can't vibrate through objects. I've never been able to, I've never been fast enou….oh no! That's it! It's not that everyone's going too slow, I'm the one going too fast!"

* * *

Wally tries sitting down, taking slow measured breaths, even removing his costume, but nothing he does seems to make any effect on his fast-forward existence. Finally, he puts the costume back on and approaches his three friends, making sure to not get too close. "I'm really, really sorry about this guys. I didn't know that would happen, really. Ugh! What am I doing? You can't hear me, I'm speaking far too fast for you to hear. But is there anyone who….of course! Bart!" He then races out of the Mission Room.

The footage then shifts to Bart's room, where he's playing a video game. Like in the other footages, the game image appears to be frozen, although Bart's fingers merely appear to be moving very slowly. However, when Wally enters his room Bart drops his controller in surprise, which appears to be frozen in mid-air, and stands up slowly.

Bart (speaking slowly): "Wally? Is that really you?"

Wally: "Ah, thank goodness! At least you can see & hear me! Is there any chance you can speak faster?"

This statement perplexes Bart, who says at the same rate of speed, " 'Speak faster'? Wally, what happened to you? You vanished when the energy discharge from the chrysalis hit you! I spoke at your funeral! Where have you been this whole time?"

This causes Wally to stop and think, "That's a good question. 'What happened to me'? I honestly can't remember very clearly what happened immediately after that last discharge hit me, but I think that it gave me a temporary supercharge, like when you inject Nitrous Oxide into a gas engine to give it a brief speed boost. As for where I've been, I believe where I woke up is the place where our powers originate from; the….Speed Force."

This statement perks Bart's interest, who says "The Speed Force? What's that like?" Wally replies, "It's kinda hard to describe, but I guess it's kinda like Heaven, though a bit more literally for us. Instead of fluffy white clouds, though, the surroundings are composed of golden lightning. The lightning isn't harsh and bright like it is here, it's warm and glowing and alive! I felt the presence of the speedsters who rode the lightning before us and the connection to those who harness the speed today. I never felt the connection to my abilities quite as strongly as I did when I was there."

Bart excitedly asks, "Is that why you're so fast now? Do you think that if I go there I can get faster too?" Wally chuckles & replies, "I wouldn't recommend it, kid. As I mentioned earlier, The Speed Force is like our Heaven; when speedsters die, they become part of it. But the Speed Force doesn't distinguish between the living and the dead. While I was there, though I felt my body absorbing the energy that was there, I also felt the Speed Force trying to absorb me! If I hadn't left when I did, I probably would really be dead."

Bart coughs to try & obscure his discomfort, "Oh, well, maybe I'll take my time to plan my vacation there. So how did you get back?" Wally replies, "It helped for me to have something I cared more than the feeling of the speed to focus on, to anchor me. For me, it was Artemis, the need to get back to her and tell her how much I love her."

This statement causes Bart to do a double-take as he exclaims, "Oh man, Artemis! I've got to tell them all that you're back! They'll be so thrilled!" Bart starts to run off, but to Wally it still looks like he's moving slowly so he's able to block Bart's path easily. "Wait, Bart. I don't think that's such a good idea. The only ones who can see or hear me are you and Barry, and maybe Jay. I can't even touch them to reassure them that I'm here. When I tried to touch a chair in the mission room, I wound up vibrating though it and it kinda exploded." At this, a shocked Bart asks, "Wait, are you saying you can't slow down?" Wally chuckles sadly and replies, "Bart, what do you think we've been talking about for the last few minutes….well, I guess it's actually been milliseconds."

At this point, the intruder alert finally starts going off, but in the slow-motion footage it sounds low and unintelligible. Bart gestures at the flashing alert light and says, "Well it sounds like they are aware you are here anyway. I'd better go tell them _something_ before they go to DEFCON 1." Wally sighs, nods, steps out of the way and says, "Fine, go ahead and tell them. I'll just…find some out of the way place to try and figure a way out of this mess." Wally waits of to the side while Bart slowly runs out the room, then he zips off himself, turning in the opposite direction.

* * *

Back in the mission room, the footage stops and the viewing window closes. For a moment, everyone is too stunned to speak save Bart, who's practically bouncing on his toes in excitement. Finally the Flash breaks the silence, "Wally's alive! I can hardly believe it! And this Speed Force that he mentioned; I had theorized that our super-speed came from elsewhere and the accident I had experienced only allowed me to access it, but what Wally had described was far beyond anything I ever imagined!" Turning to Nightwing, Barry asked, "Where is Wally now?" Accessing the security cameras again, Nightwing answered, "It looks like he made a stop in the kitchen, where we have a massive clean-up ahead of us, then straight to the unused guest hanger bay." Without another word, Flash dashed out of the room, which sparked Tigress out of her shocked state and into action. "Oh no, I'm not letting you go see him without me," she said as she followed him out of the room.

The others start to follow Tigress, but Nightwing called out to them, "Wait up guys!" As they turned back towards him, he continued, "Things are going be hard enough for Wally with Artemis there, but at least Barry will be there to function as a translator of sorts. We can't expect Barry to translate for us all, and let's not forget that Wally went down there for our own safety." Zatanna placed her fists on her hips and glared at Nightwing as she said, "So we're just to leave Wally alone as he goes through this?" Superboy continued angrily, "Wally was our friend too!" "I didn't say that," Nightwing answered, "but if you have something you'd like to say to him, then we can get it recorded and I can adjust the speed so he can watch it them without someone having to tell him what's being said. However, I think that there is something that's far more important that we need to concern ourselves with." When Nightwing gestures towards the security feed showing the messy kitchen, Beast Boy says indignantly, "You think that our cleaning up the kitchen is more important than Wally?" Nightwing shakes his head and says, "My concern is _why_ it's a mess; I don't think Wally deliberately made it that way. I think that he's getting hungry, but he had the same problem there that he had with the chair here. In fact, I'd be surprised if he managed to get anything down. I think our primary concern should be to find a way to get Wally slowed down so that he can touch things without blowing them up. Otherwise, I'm afraid he may literally starve to death before the sun sets tomorrow." The others' eyes briefly widen in concern before narrowing in shared determination, and they nod in unison. "All right then," Nightwing finished, "dismissed!"

* * *

Meanwhile, down in the guest hanger, Flash enters through the door at normal speed so as to try and not startle Wally as he says. "Wally, you here?" When he sees Wally's blurry figure shift closer to the far corner, he shifts into super-speed and tries again, "Wally? It's me, Barry."

Wally narrows his eyes in concentration and says, "Barry? What are you doing here?" "I was one of the first Leaguers to respond to your intruder alert. Wow," Barry responds, "it really is you! And you are much faster than you were before!" Wally chuckles derisively, "Yeah, for all the good it does me. Guess this one of those 'careful what you wish for' moments. At least I can appreciate that story about King Midas now, except when I touch an apple, it turns into applesauce instead of gold, and even that applesauce turns into so much cosmic dust. I haven't had a decent bite to eat since I got back." As if to emphasize the point, Wally's stomach growls like an angry beast.

Barry stifles a chuckle, "So I hear. So you're unable to touch anything?" "Thus far," Wally answered with a sigh, "only the floor seems to be safe from my touch. Anything else, I seem to automatically vibrate through and cause to explode. I'm afraid to even touch you." "I guess that's understandable," Barry replied, "I often wondered why when I vibrate through walls and solid objects I don't also sink through the floor as well. The only conclusion I've been able to draw is that it's instinct. We can imagine that the walls before us don't exist because, once upon a time, they didn't. However, we learn from a very early age that the ground beneath us is solid and hard, so it's tough to imagine that we can pass through it as well." Wally gazed up thoughtfully before responding, "Yeah, that does make sense."

"So," Barry said, looking to change the subject, "the Speed Force, is it truly as beautiful as I heard on the video?" This prompts a small grin from Wally, "Even more so. Words can't adequately describe what it's like being there. It's warmth and light and life. While I was there, I felt a sense of belonging that I never felt anywhere else, except perhaps in Artemis's arms. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't there and that I was afraid that she never would be, I might have never come back. Just would've let the Speed Force draw me in." "I know what you mean," Barry added wistfully, "I'm not sure that I'd want to spend Eternity without Iris either. Sure hope we can choose our afterlife destination."

This sets both of them laughing. At that moment, the hallway access to the hanger bay begins to open. Though it seems to happen painfully slowly to Wally in his speedy state, he can see enough through the crack to recognize Artemis sprinting in slow motion towards it. Wally's breathing speeds up as the turns to Barry and asks, "Could you please ask Artemis to keep a safe distance from me, Barry?" Barry looks on his young protégée and says, "I'm sure that she's just concerned about you." "I…" Wally swallowed before continuing, "…I know that, but I'm concerned about her. I don't want anything bad to happen to her." "I understand, Wally," Barry nodded then continued, "Don't worry, I'll handle this."

Barry shifted back to normal speed just as Tigress steps through the door, the steps in her head-long path to Wally, "Sorry, but Wally wants you to maintain a safe distance from him." "But," Tigress argued as she removed her mask, craning her head around Barry to look at Wally, "it's me, Wally! It's Artemis!" "He knows that," Barry countered, "he just doesn't want what happened to the chair in the mission room and to the food in the kitchen to happen to you,"

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked, confused, "What happened in the kitchen?" "Wally tried to silence his growling belly," Barry answered with a hint of a smile, "Problem was that he couldn't get his food to stop exploding in his face." "Oh, Wally," Artemis said with a sigh, then turned her attention back to Barry, "Is he okay?" "He's hungry," Barry answered, "and I can tell that he really misses you, but other than that he seems fine." "I miss him too," Artemis said morosely, "It's been so hard without him. Can you tell him I never stopped thinking about him?" "Sure," Barry said with an understanding smile.

Shifting back into super-speed, Barry relayed his discussion with Artemis to Wally. "You told her that I missed her?!" Wally exploded at Barry. "Well, didn't you?" Barry said, taken aback. "Well, yes," Wally admitted, "but she didn't need to know that! I'm sure that she's gotta be worried enough without your adding fuel to the fire." Barry sighed then said, "You're right, of course. Sorry. You know, it's funny…not 'funny' amusing, you understand, but ironic; all these years the Rogues have tried to stop me by slowing me down, and it turns out that all they had to do was speed….me…" Barry trailed off as he sank to the floor, his jaw going slack. Wally, concern apparent on his face, asked, "Barry? What's wrong?" "I just had myself the craziest idea," Barry revealed, a smile slowly claiming his face, "so crazy that it just may work!" Getting quickly to his feet, he added, "There's no time to lose! I just hope that the warden will be cooperative."

"Okay, but…" Wally started to reach for Barry, the retracted his hand back to his chest, "…before you go, can you relay one more message to Artemis?" "Sure," Barry replied, then he listened intently as Wally gave him the message, then after passing the message on to Artemis he raced out the door to the Zeta Room. Finally, after one more longing look over her shoulder, she followed Barry out of the room.

* * *

"You want us to _what_ now?" Warden Strange said, incredulously.

"I told you," Flash answered patiently, "I'd like you temporarily release custody of the Rogues Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master and Heat Wave to myself and the Justice League."

"But…" Warden Strange stuttered a minute before catching himself and continuing, "…these men are your most dangerous enemies! And you just want me to turn them over to you?"

"Only temporarily," Flash replied. "Once they have completed the task I've in mind for them, we'll return them to your custody. Of course, whether or not I actually take custody of them depends on if they take the deal or not. But I think that the possibility of a shorter sentence contingent on their success will be too tempting for them to pass up."

"But why offer to reduce their sentences?" Warden Strange asked, looking as though he was about to blow his top, "Why release them _at all_?!"

The Flash looked off in the distance pensively as he answered, "Because the life of someone I care about is at stake."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the home of Mary and Rudy West, the doorbell rings. Mrs. West answers to reveal Artemis in civilian attire. "Hello, Mrs. West. May I come in?"

Mrs. West, taken aback by her surprise visitor, quickly recovers, "Yes, of course my dear. Come in, come in." As Artemis enters, Mrs. West closed the door behind her and continues, "You know you're always welcome here, it's just that we haven't seen you since…" She trailed off, finding herself unable to finish the sentence.

Artemis cleared her throat uncomfortably as Mr. West approaches from the living room, "Yeah, sorry about that. It's just that you guys remind me so much of him that I found it too painful." Mrs. West nods understandingly while Mr. West pats Artemis comfortingly on the shoulder. _I hope I'm doing the right thing here_, Artemis thought to herself, then countered, _Of course it's the right thing, anyways it's what Wally wants_. Out loud, she said "Anyways, I'm here because I have something for you guys," with the Wests both looking at her, she fished in her pocket and brought out a thumb drive with modified connectors before continuing, "It's a message. From Wally. He wants you to have it."

The Wests both look at her uncomprehendingly until Mr. West finds his voice, "I don't understand. I thought we were given all of his personal effects months ago. Why is this just getting to us now?"

Artemis took a deep breath to steel herself, then answered, "It's because Wally made this just 10 minutes ago."

Mrs. West claps both hands over her mouth and half whispers in astonishment, "Our boy's alive?"

Artemis bites her lip for a second, then continues, "It'll be best if you watch this first. It'll probably explain things better than I possibly can."

After activating the special connectors to input the signal directly into the West's flatscreen and to prevent signal leak that can be picked up by unfriendly parties, Artemis activated the thumb drive and the video playback began, which showed Wally in the hanger bay.

"Hello, Artemis? This will probably be a good point to begin the recording." He pauses for a second before continuing, "Hi Mom, Dad. If you're watching this now, then that means that Artemis got my message and got it to you okay. I hope she didn't get into too much trouble doing it; I wouldn't want her to be kicked off the team, especially if…" Wally shakes his head, then continues, "Anyway, I'm sure you have lots of questions, and as I'm not sure how much Artemis told you or was able to bring herself to tell you, I might as well start from the beginning. First off, I'm alive, at least for the moment. When that Reach energy blast hit me, it catapulted me to the source of all speedster's power, supercharging me. Problem is, when I was able to get back, I found myself unable to slow down to normal speed. Also, I can't touch anything without blowing it up, not even oatmeal. So, in a nutshell, I'm basically slowly starving to death, though I suppose 'slowly' is a relative term. Uncle Barry said he has a plan, but he himself described it as a crazy plan, so I don't want to put all my hopes into it working." Wally's stomach growls audibly, at which he chuckles and continues, "My stomach is telling me I don't have much time left. Anyway, the main reason I requested this message be delivered to you was to tell you 'thank you'. You were the best parents an idiot boy like me could ever hope for. And Artemis? I'm sure that you're watching this video too, either while you were dubbing it or while showing it to my parents, So I just wanted to thank you too. For a boy who's used to living fast, you gave me a reason to take it slow, not to mention you made it a life worth living. Thank you all, for everything."

When the screen went dark, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. As they stood up, Mrs. West hugged Artemis fiercely and whispered in her ear, "Thank you, my dear. Thank you." Artemis, choked up herself, managed to get out, "My pleasure."

As she pulled back, Mrs. West looked Artemis straight in the eyes and asked, "Now can I ask you a favor? When you get back to that clubhouse of yours, tell Barry and the others to bring my boy home. I'll have a large supper cooked up and waiting for him when he returns." At this, Artemis hugs her back and responds, "Of course I will. Trust me; If they don't do everything possible to bring him back to us, I'll kick their butts myself."

* * *

In the Lexcorp main office, Lex Luthor is talking on the phone.

"Are you sure? That's what he said? No, you did good in contacting me before making any decisions on this. No, I don't want you to block him on this. In fact, I'd like you to encourage them to cooperate with his plan, make sure they don't do anything stupid like….yes, I'm sure. At this point, one of them more or less won't impair our plans, and I believe I can make this work in our favor. Thanks for understanding. Take care, Warden Strange."

Swiveling in his chair, a calculating smile spreads across Lex's face as he hits the intercom button on his desk and says, "Mercy, get me in touch with GBS."

* * *

Across television screens everywhere, the G. Gordon Godfrey [Special Report] logo interrupts the GBS regularly scheduled programming, which is soon displaced by Godfrey's own visage looking rather indignant.

"Well, I told you and told you and told you more times than even I can count. Now, to be honest, I don't know how many of you are actually listening to me and taking me seriously, as I can't exactly look you in the eyes as I tell you these things. I suppose that the ratings indicate that you are at least tuning into my program, even if it's only to laugh at ' Gordon's crazy theories.' However, I did tell you that the 'people' on the so-called Justice League were not heroes, and now _here's the proof!_" He points furiously at a screen behind him, showing the Flash and four of his Rogues walking to the middle of the Belle Reve Penitentiary yard, then stopping as the Flash said something into his wrist-mounted communicator, then vanishing in a flash of light. "Now me ask you folks, why would a 'hero' like the Flash be approaching four dangerous criminals, some of his so-called worst enemies, no less, and be taking them out of prison?! Is he taking them to the League's eye in the sky, perhaps planning with them the next crime they'll commit so that he can 'bust' them for it? No one knows because _no one is doing anything to find out!_" Godfrey sighs and collects himself as the image of Belle Reve is replaces by a still image of Lex Luthor. "At least I can be grateful that the magnanimous Lex Luthor is doing so well in the polls. That at least tells me that you people haven't completely lost your minds to the League's propaganda. I feel confident that when he's elected Secretary General that he can bring some order to this madness."

* * *

"Have you completely lost your mind?!" Artemis barked furiously.

The Flash, who had just arrived with the Rogues, backs away with his hands up in a placating gesture as Artemis's tirade continues.

"The Rogues? That's your big plan?! That's not 'crazy', that's bugged-out insane!" Artemis exploded at Barry, "They're your worst enemies! They're his! You can't possibly think you can trust them?!"

"Now now there, lassie," Captain Boomerang said as he walked towards Artemis, who is once again dressed in her Tigress outfit, "we ain't as bad as all that! Sure, we's criminals, but we've got ethics here: we've never aimed to kill the red boy scout here or your boyfriend. And we'd never kick a blighter when he's down, at least not without being paid for it first. Besides, I understand that your old man's Sportsmaster, and I personally don't want to be the one who…"

Captain Boomerang breaks off as Tigress thrusts her face into his and barks furiously, "Don't. Mention. My father. Again."

Captain Boomerang backs away and says, "Okay okay. Anyways, We cut a deal a deal with ol' Flash; we do this job, he has a word with the judge, we get our sentences reduced."

Barry, who's remained silent through all this, chimes in, "Now that deal is contingent on your being successful in your job. If you fail, if Wally dies, then you go back to jail with your sentences intact."

At this point, Batman emerges from the shadows to add, "And if you do anything stupid like using killing blows, or try to escape, then I'll personally send you back home the hard way. Don't forget we're currently around 22,000 miles above the Earth"

Mirror Master chuckles nervously and says, "You're joking, right?"

Batman narrows his eyes intimidatingly and says, "Do I look like I'm joking?"

At this, all four Rogues start sweating, even Captain Cold, who says, "You don't need to worry, Bats, we made a deal, we'll keep to it."

"See that you do," Batman says, then slips off to the other room.

Tigress, with a troubled expression, says, "I still think this is a bad idea."

Barry places his hand on her shoulder and says, "I'm not exactly saying it's a good one, but none of us has much experience in impairing on a speedster's speed. The Rogues, on the other hand, have spent most of their careers coming up with ways to do exactly that."

"Listen to the man," Heat Wave chimed in, "We're the experts on this."

"Besides," Barry continued, "they're only Phase One of my plan."

At that moment, Zatanna came running into the room telling excitedly, "I did it! I've come up with a spell that'll help slow Wally down!"

"Perfect!" Barry said brightly, "You can be part of Phase Two."

"Wait," Artemis said, "if the Rogues are Phase One of the plan, and Zatanna is part of Phase Two, then is there a Phase Three?"

At that point, the Zeta Tubes light up, accompanied by the Watchtower's computer saying, "Recognizing: Jay Garrick, A13; Jessie Quick, A19; Johnny Quick, A20"

As they emerge from the tubes, Bart dashes into the room saying, "That would be us."

* * *

Back in the hanger, Wally is leaning back against the far wall as Barry, The Rogues, Tigress, Zatanna, Blue Beetle, Superboy, Static, and finally Bart and the rest of the speedsters enter.

"Blimey, mate, you weren't kidding!" Captain Boomerang exclaimed, "The little blighter's still kickin'!"

Barry shifted into super-speed, as did many of the other speedsters, and saw that Wally was looking extremely drawn and emaciated. "Not for much longer if we don't do something," Barry explained, "Okay, so here's the plan: I will have Wally run in laps around the back half of the hanger and you Rogues will do what you can to slow him down; only slow him down, don't try to stop him. At this point, I honestly don't think you can stop him without killing him, and we need him running. Once you've got him slowed down to the point where he's no longer breaking the sound barrier, then that's where Phase Two takes over; that's Zatanna, Superboy, Static and Blue Beetle. You four will work together to further slow Wally down. Once he's expended enough speed that he's no longer vibrating through objects, that's where Phase Three commences; my fellow speedsters and I will match pace with Wally and siphon off Wally's excess Speed Force energy, which will hopefully allow him to shift back down to normal speed. Everyone clear as to what their roles are?" Everyone nodded. Barry then shifted into super-speed to explain to Wally, who also nodded. Then speaking in rapid fire normal and super-speed speech, Barry hollered, "Go!" at which Wally quickly became a part of a yellow oval blur taking up the back half of the hangar.

Captain Boomerang, his eyes bulging, exclaimed, "Bugger, mate! You said he was faster, you never said he was that much faster than you!"

"Does that mean you can't do it, then?" Barry asked, concerned.

"Naw, mate," Captain Boomerang said, "just means that this'll be an actual challenge, that's all. Come on, you blokes! Let's show these little nippers what the Rogues can really do!"

At that, the Rogues took up various positions along the hangar and began unleashing their attacks along Wally's path, though they seemed to be enjoying very little success.

Captain Boomerang: "The Blighter's ripping through my adhesive boomerangs like they're made of watered down mud!"

Mirror Master: "He's tearing through my strongest mirrors like so much tissue paper!"

Heat Wave: "He's going so fast, my flames are blowing out faster than I can lay them down!"

Captain Cold: "The heat from his passage is vaporizing my ice too fast!"

Though the Rogues were dismayed by their apparent lack of progress, Barry saw what they couldn't; a missed step here, a stumble there. The plan was working! "That's it!" he called out, "Keep it up!"

Finally, after 10 minutes of continuous attacks, a sonic boom signaled that Wally had dropped below the sonic barrier. "Phase Two, go!"

The Rogues, who were exhausted from continuously using their strongest attacks, were only too happy to let the young heroes take over as they took up their own positions.

First off was Zatanna, who began with her spell, "**_Yllaw, nwod lleh eht wols_**!" Wally, who could hear Zatanna for the first time since he returned (though she sounded like a slow drawl), felt the effects of the spell immediately as he wound up missing several steps.

Next along Wally's path was Superboy, who used his super-breath to create a wind that Wally had to run against.

Wally's third obstacle was Static, who had ripped plates off a dilapidated Green Lantern spaceship, placed them on either side of one stretch of Wally's path, and used his abilities to create static fields that clung to Wally and dragged at him as he ran between them.

Wally's final obstacle in his loop was Blue Beetle, who used his sonic cannon to create a wall of sound that Wally had to fight through.

Finally, after a couple more minutes and about seventy more laps, Barry could see that Wally wasn't visibly vibrating anymore. _It's time_, he thought. "Three, go!" he called out, then he joined the race. As Wally's friends cleared the area, the other speedsters; Bart and Barry Allen, Johnny and Jessie Quick, and Jay Garrick all took their positions around the still racing Wally and placed one hand on him. The effect was nearly instantaneous, as golden lightning leapt from Wally's body into their own outstretched hands. As the lightning left him, Wally no longer felt the endless energy that he experienced since he got back and simply felt extremely tired as he allowed himself to tumble head over heels to a sprawling stop.

"Wally!" Artemis cried out as she raced to his side. As she gently cradled his head in her lap, she asked "Are you all right?"

"In your arms, beautiful?" Wally croaked, smiling, "I've never been better!"

Artemis fumbled with a compartment on her utility belt and pulled out a toothpaste-like tube, "Here."

Wally looked on it in astonishment, "My 2000-calorie paste. You had it?"

Artemis blushed sheepishly as she twisted off the cap. "It reminded me the most of you," she explained, "You had some during virtually every mission we went on together." She then carefully squeezed some into Wally's open mouth, which he painfully gulped down. After a moment, life returned to his face and he managed to wobble upright.

Superboy, carefully approaching, asked, "How are you feeling, Wally?"

"Better," Wally replied, then he caused his hand to vibrate in front of his face, "and it seems that I managed to retain some of my new speed as well," he then thrust his vibrating hand through one of the ship plates that Static had imbedded in the floor, which promptly blew out all around his hand, "though it seems that I still can't vibrate through objects without blowing them up." He then stopped his hand from vibrating and grabbed a fragment from off the floor, "It seems that I can grab things normally now, though," then his stomach made the loudest growl yet, "and a good thing too, 'cause I'm starving!" At this lighthearted touch of humor, his friends all laughed heartily, and even the Rogues were unable to suppress a smile. At that point, Nightwing, Aqualad, Beast Boy and Miss Martian entered the hanger. "In that case," Nightwing said, still chuckling, "the kitchen's all yours!" "Yeah!" Beast boy added, "We even managed to scrounge something together from the stuff you didn't turn into a pulp." "Thanks guys," Artemis said as she placed a gently restraining hand on Wally's shoulder, "but I think that Wally's parents will kill us if we don't get him home for dinner." Wally grinned as he said, "Then what are we waiting for?" Artemis yelped in surprise as, in a burst of super-speed he had her swept off her feet and in his arms. "What," he asked, you didn't think I was gonna eat alone, did you?" "I should hope not," Artemis replied as she placed her arms around his neck and kissed him. As Wally walked towards the exit still carrying Artemis, she asked, "We're not running to the Tubes?" Wally chuckled and replied, "After living for what seems like weeks in super-speed, I'm content to just take my time for now."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the desolate world known as Apocalypse, a boom tube opens before a massive figure seated on a gigantic throne and the person known as G. Gordon Godfrey stepped out. As the tube closed behind him, Godfrey kneeled and said "My lord. Everything is proceeding according to schedule."

Beneath his coal red eyes, a cruel smile spread across Darkseid's craggy face.

End of chapter


	2. 2) Control

**Control**

The story opens to the interior of the interior of the Lexcorp manufacturing facility, the very one that had previously been used to manufacture the Reach softdrink and is now is being used to put out his "own" brand. Or was. With smashed consoles, holes punched in the ceiling and walls and floors that look as though they've been scorched by a laser, it looks like a monster had recently ran wild through the place. Judging by the condition of Team members Batgirl, Blue Beetle, Beast Boy and Wonder Girl, it appears as though they picked a fight with that monster and lost. Whether they're merely unconscious or dead, it's difficult to tell. It's apparent by the cacophonous sounds, however that the battle's far from over. As the view pans over to follow the sounds we see the most unexpected of opponents: Superboy and Ms. Martian. Superboy, his head clean-shaven and an "L" burned across the S Shield on his chest, has Ms. Martian pinned against the wall with his hands around her throat, and more impossibly using Heat Vision to try and vaporize her skull. Only Ms. Martian's straining arms keeping Connor's head turned off target has allowed her to keep her own, but it's apparent from the trembling of her muscles and the sweat running down her face that it's a battle she's in extreme danger of losing. It's unclear as to what drove these friends and loved ones to become bitter enemies, and the words that emerge from Connor's mouth throw the situation into further confusion; "You have to do it, Megan! Take me out of commission!" "No!" Megan responds, her voice trembling from both the strain of the battle and the terrible toll of the emotions rampaging through her, "There's got to be another way!" "Stop me!" Superboy screams desperately, tears pouring from his eyes as rapidly as the deadly energy, "_Kill me!_" "_I can't!_" Ms. Martian yells back, tears flowing down her own face as the beams creep ever closer to it.

* * *

**24 hours earlier….**

In the dining area of watchtower's Kitchen, an enormous cake is sitting in the middle of a large circular table, with various members of the League and the Team standing around it and Wally at its head, wearing civilian attire and a party hat.

"Welcome back, Wally!" everyone joyously yells.

"Well, I don't know if I'm 'back' back," Wally says with a smile, "I mean, it's great that I'm faster now and everything, but…"

"Relax, okay?" Superboy says with a knowing smile, "We're merely welcoming you back to the land of the living, you can take your time deciding about the Team."

"Although it'd be cool if you did decide to come back!" Bart said excitedly, "Hey, how about a race? Loser has to wear the Impulse costume next 3 missions!"

Wally chuckles as he says, "Maybe later, Bart."

Nightwing smiles as he says, "If you wanted to go back to a quiet life back at college, then we won't hold it against you. You've certainly earned that much, at least."

Barry continues, "Yeah, anyone who gives everything to save the world from an invasion of hostile aliens has certainly earned an early retirement."

Jaime Reyes, also in civilian attire, "Yeah, amigo. We just didn't get a chance to celebrate your return before, with your mom practically kidnapping you all day yesterday and the night before, so we're doing it now."

Wally chuckled and said, "My mom practically force-fed me the contents of every grocery store in town, and the next one over. If Artemis hadn't assured her that she wouldn't let me out of her sight, I don't think she would've let me leave today."

"And I mean to keep that promise, mister," Artemis, who's in civilian clothes as well, loops her arm around Wally's and smiles as she continues, "I'm not about to let you leave my side anytime soon."

Miss Martian says, with a hint of reluctant understanding, "Does that mean you'll be leaving the team again?"

Artemis smiles fondly at her friend and says, "I probably wouldn't be against an odd mission sometime in the future. As for my immediate plans, I'll likely just go along with whatever Wally wants to do." She then turns to Wally as she says, "Of course, if you did come back, I'm sure I've still got my Artemis costume in mothballs. Or I could keep going as Tigress, if you prefer," she adds with a sly smile.

Wally, his right eyebrow perking, says with a smile of his own, "Honey, I'd like you no matter what you no matter what you decided to wear. I would even like you bald." At that statement, Superboy dropped the cake knife from his stunned fingers. Wally looks at his friend with concern as he asks, "Connor, are you alright, man?"

Before Superboy can answer, Miss Martian lays a comforting hand on Connor's shoulder as she said, "He's been having some bad dreams as of late. Don't worry about it."

Wally visibly relaxed as he said, "Bad dreams? What were they about, bud? Bald Meg…"

Before he could finish the statement, Meghan silenced him with a glare that said what she wanted more clearly than if she yelled it or spoke it directly into his mind; _drop it_.

"It's okay, Wal," Conner said as he picked up the cake knife, "like Meghan said, it's only a dream. Don't worry about it." He then flips the knife around to hand it across to Wally handle-first, "Here, It's your party. You cut yourself the first slice."

As Wally started cutting the cake, only Meghan saw the doubt and fear creep back into Connor's eyes. An echo of his nightmare, of which Meghan was the only other one to know that it was about something much worse that her being bald.

* * *

That night, back in the sleeping quarters, Connor and Meghan were kissing passionately, wrapped up tightly in each other's embrace. As Connor's hands moved across her shoulders, they suddenly closed around her throat. As shock and surprise crossed Meghan's face, a cruel smile claimed Conner's as his hair started falling out, leaving him bald. Gasping, she looked over his shoulder as Lex Luthor stepped out of the shadows. With a cruel smile of his own, Lex said, "Very good, my son. Now do your old man proud: finish her." Meghan watched as Connor's eyes lit up, then the world became one of bright light and unbearable heat.

* * *

Connor sat bolt upright in his bed, sweat pouring down his face, as he woke to the sound of someone screaming. He frantically looked around to find out who it was before realizing that the one screaming was him. He took a deep calming breath, as much as he could be calmed, as he pressed his hands to his temples and closed his eyes. _That damn dream again_, he thought furiously to himself, wishing he could hit himself hard enough to knock that dream clear out of his head. _Always the same one. Why is it always __**her**__? Is it because she's the one I most can't stand to lose? That, without her, I wouldn't have any real reason to go on living?_ For what isn't the first time, Connor was grateful that these rooms were soundproofed for privacy, and so that people with sensitive hearing like him could get a decent sleep without being awoken by the constant noise of the world below. _Or being woken up by me,_ Conner thought, _the others don't need to suffer because of my night terrors._

As Connor was debating as to whether he could get away with going back to bed, Meghan came drifting through the wall into his room. "Are you alright, Connor?" she asked as she fixed her concerned eyes on him. For half a second he wondered how she knew, then he realized that was a stupid question. She always knew. These rooms are only soundproofed, after all, not psi-proofed, and her room was just the next one over anyway. She'd insisted on that arrangement, not daring to ask to live in the same room, yet not wanting to be too far from him. Always walking on eggshells around him, not wanting to do anything that might drive him away. Again. _Well that's my own fool fault_, Connor berated himself, _I'm the one who had broke up with her "for her own good." To make her see just how much too far she was abusing her abilities, to get her to come to her senses and see the line she should not be crossing over. I should have found a way to do that without breaking her heart._ Meghan waited patiently while he mentally abused himself, and Conner knew that it was because she felt he should be yelling at her rather than himself. He would not do that, though. She'd suffered enough the last time she'd crossed that line. With Kaldur.

"Is it that dream again?" Meghan asked him as she settled herself beside him on his bed. She was wearing a nightshirt that revealed nothing, yet regardless still managed to look so good that it almost hurt. One again he remarked at how easy it was for her nowadays. She didn't even need to enter his mind to know his thoughts anymore, it was more like they were of one mind, one soul that just happened to inhabit two separate bodies. Though he had no psi abilities of his own, he regardless managed to pick up some things from her too. Like how she blamed herself for Kaldur, for breaking Lagoon Boy's heart, for not being a better role model for Beast Boy, for everything that had went wrong with her previous relationship with him. He knew he was unable to lie to her, though he wished he could just to reassure her, so he simply said, "Yeah, the same one."

Meghan wiped the sweat from his brow as she said, " I just wish…" Connor put his finger on her lips as he said, "I know what you wish, and I know why it is you won't. And even if you could and would, I wouldn't want you to, and not for the reasons you think. It's bad enough that you have to put up with my nightmares with me, I couldn't bear it if you had to deal with them alone."

"I know, I just want some peace for you, that's all," Meghan said softly. "And that's all I want for you," Connor replied as he traced his finger across her jawline.

"It's just a dream, you know that. Right?" Meghan asked him, concerned again, "He has no hold on you anymore, I made sure of that."

He mulled that over for a few seconds. He knew that she had went into his mind, with his permission thank you very much, and removed the one command from his mind that Cadmus; scratch that, that _Luthor_ had planted in his mind that made him freeze up like he'd run out of batteries. That she'd confirmed that he hadn't been able to place any others before Dick, Wally and Kaldur had broken him out of his pod. He knew all this, but he couldn't shake off the fact that the man was very much in his blood, that part of him was Lex Luthor as much as he was part Superman. He chuckled to himself as he recalled that Meghan had once compared his unique situation and heritage to the one held by the boy with the bad eye and foul temper that's on that show she liked. What was that show's name again, that one with the kid with an arrow on his head? Whatever. Realizing that Meghan was still looking at him and waiting for an answer, he said, "Yeah, it's just a dream," deciding that one little white lie wouldn't hurt either of them tonight.

* * *

That evening, in the Lexcorp main office, Luthor was on the phone listening to a report from the head of production at one of his facilities.

Lexcorp production exec (on speakerphone): "We checked as requested and fond that, in fact, the contents of vat XL38V were lower than what they were supposed to be. Additionally, there appears to be evidence that some of it was taken by parties unknown."

Lex templed his fingers together and said, "Mmhm, I see. And I take it that Security has no leads as to whom was responsible for this act of theft?"

The exec cleared her throat nervously as she said, "I'm sorry, sir, you're correct. No one spotted any suspicious parties and there's no evidence of them on the security feeds either."

Lex stood from his chair and turned towards the large windows behind him, gazing out at the lights of Metropolis as he said, "As I had expected. We are dealing with professionals, after all. In fact, I'd be insulted if they had been caught."

"I'm very sorry, sir," the exec replied, "I will have security detail increased immediately."

"No, there's no need," Lex said quickly, then continued soothingly, " In fact, why don't you take the next couple of days off, on the house, starting tomorrow evening"

The exec, becoming even more nervous, said, "I'm really, really sorry sir! I swear that this will never, ever happen again!"

"You misunderstand, my dear, this isn't a punishment," Lex said, allowing himself a slight smile, "I'm merely anticipating my victory in the election in a couple of days, so I'm feeling rather….magnanimous. In fact, why don't you everyone who's working tomorrow that they can do the same. Have them go home early in fact."

"E-everyone, sir?" the exec asked, "Even Security?"

"Yes, them too. Also, tell anyone who's not scheduled to work there tomorrow that they also have those days off paid. I want to make sure that everyone has enough time to decide on which candidate to vote for in the election. I don't want anyone to have to rush their decision because they're worrying about being to work on time."

"A-are you sure, sir?" she asked.

"Yes, dear, quite sure," Lex said cordially, "Just make sure that all important equipment is shut down properly, that the security systems are up and running, and that you lock up behind you."

The exec, now sounding excited rather than nervous, replied, "Yes, of course sir! Thank you, sir!"

"You're welcome, my dear. Adieu!" Lex said as he turned back towards his desk to shut off the speakerphone, then he tuned towards Mercy who had been waiting silently in the corner, "It appears they've taken the bait. Everything is proceeding according to schedule."

"Sir?" Mercy inquired, her face betraying no emotion, "Are you sure tomorrow is the right time for this?"

Lex raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Is there a problem?"

Mercy replied, "It's just that you yourself said that it could only be activated once, and that it would only work for a short time. If they don't act tomorrow, if he's not with them, if he should fail…"

"Mercy, Mercy," Lex interrupted cordially, "I didn't program you to worry, so you shouldn't be. I'm certain that they'll act tomorrow, because they're as certain as I am that their time to act is running out. And I'm sure he will be with them, because she will be, and they've been tied at the hip for a while. As for him failing," Lex chuckled, "Well….even if he should not accomplish my personal objectives for him, I'm certain that the general goal of my plan will be achieved. In a couple of days I will be on my way to the Secretary General's office and there's nothing they can do to stop me. In fact, they'll help me get there." Lex smiled a cruel smile as he said, "In the end, the Light will prevail."

* * *

The following evening, in the Watchtower's Mission Room, Batman is in the process of debriefing the Team.

"On your last incursion to the Lexcorp facility, you found a container containing large quantities of dopamine polymerase connected to the equipment which manufactures Lexcorp's new soft drink which begins its official sales tomorrow. While that does strongly indicate that Lexcorp is indeed marketing the Reach drink under a new name, it is unfortunately not conclusive evidence, which is what we'll need if we're going to shut them down. As I'm sure that you're aware, The election for the replacement of Secretary General Tsang takes place in a couple of days. I cannot believe that the timing of Lexcorp's drink sales is a mere coincidence, and if Luthor is elected Secretary General as the polls indicate, then that'll put the Light in a position of power that we cannot afford them to have. We must prove Luthor of wrongdoing if we're to have any chance of preventing this. We'll need two teams; one will infiltrate the manufacturing facility to find evidence that the adrenaline inhibitors and the mitochondrial markers are being used in the manufacturing equipment for the drinks, the other will obtain a sample of the finished product from one of the Lexcorp warehouses. I'll leave you now to determine the teams. Remember, the future of the world may rest on the success of tonight's mission."

As Batman leaves the room, Aqualad takes up his position at the table, "Alright, Batgirl, Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, Miss Martian and…" when Superboy tensed, Aqualad suppressed a smile and continued, "….Superboy will compose team A, which will infiltrate the manufacturing facility." When Superboy visibly relaxed, Aqualad continued, "Robin, Zatanna, Bumblebee, Guardian, Kid Flash…"

Bart and Wally, both dressed as Kid Flash, say simultaneously, "Yes?"

Aqualad pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before continuing, "…Wally and Tigress will be on team B, which will be infiltrating the warehouse…"

Bart said, with a note of concern, "What about me? What will I do?"

Aqualad answered, "You will remain on point to provide backup to either team should they need it. Due to the distance between the two facilities, you are one of only two people who is fast enough to provide backup in time, and since I need Tigress on team B and she won't work without Wally, that leaves you defaulting to point position."

"I told you we should've had that race before coming here," Bart grumped.

"I told you, we didn't have time," Wally said patiently.

"You know we could've done ten laps and been back here before anyone even noticed," Bart argued.

"Yeah," Wally countered, "but who would have judged?"

Bart growled under his breath then said, "This is gonna be so boring!"

Aqualad, who listened to this exchange with a small smile, said, "I genuinely hope so. Dismissed."

* * *

In the skies over the Lexcorp warehouse near Star City, the Bio-Ship is hovering in camouflage mode.

Miss Martian, who's in the pilot seat, turns towards the others and announces, "We've arrived at drop zone one."

As team B begins to repel or fly out the hole that opened in the floor of the Bio-Ship, Bart taps his right foot rapidly, either from impatience or from nervous tension. As Robin prepared to descend, he turned towards Wonder Girl and said, "You be careful over there."

Wonder Girl waved him off, saying, "Me? Pffftt. Most of the heavy hitters are on my team, including yours truly. I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about. Your most powerful members Are Zatanna and Kid Flash."

Robin kissed her and said, "For a snatch and grab from a distribution warehouse, that's more than enough. Besides, Aqualad's standing by on the Zeta Tube's emergency transport in case anything does go wrong. We'll be careful, all the same though."

As Wally and Tigress walked past Bart, he saw that Bart's costume was still in standard mode. Gesturing towards his own, which was in stealth mode, Wally asked, "Why haven't you changed to stealth mode yet?"

"I'm on point as backup, remember?" Bart asked without looking up at Wally. "If I'm called into action, it'll be because stealth has failed."

"Oh, right." Wally saw that Bart was upset, but knew that he'd have to find a way to deal with that later. As he started to follow Tigress down to the ground, he heard Bart call out behind him, "Wally?"

As he turned around, he saw Bart now looking directly at him. With a concerned expression, Bart said, "You take care of yourself down there," then to cover his lack of emotional guard he smirked and said, "after today you _owe_ me that race."

Wally smiled back at him and said, "You got it," then slid down the line Tigress descended on, then took off as the Bio-Ship flew off towards its next destination.

* * *

The Production facility, a factory near the Smallvile Lexcorp farm that was once used to produce the Reach drink, was already quiet by the time Team B had arrived. As the team was gathered beneath the Bio-Ship, Miss Martian flew back up to the ship and said to Bart, "I'm going to have her take you to the designated point. As you may be outside my telepathic range and I won't be able to mind-link us to Team B, you'll need to pay attention to your earpiece, as that'll connect you to both teams and to Watchtower."

"Okay, okay. I got it. Now can you get going so I can go back to being bored?" Wally said with a forced sense of impatience.

Miss Martian, who heard more than what Bart was saying, simply said, "Okay Bart, we'll see you again soon."

Superboy, who was waiting on the ground, looked irritably in the direction that the Bio-ship as he said, "That kid still has a lot to learn."

"He's okay," Megan said back with a smile, "he's just…."

"…worried about being bored?" Superboy finished her sentence.

"About Wally" Miss Martian amended. "He was hoping to be teamed up with him tonight, and it wasn't all that long ago that we got him back after believing we'd lost him forever. Bart looks on him as like a big brother, and is afraid he might lose him again."

"Oh," Superboy looked rather sheepish at his error as he continued, "I guess I have a bit I can still learn as well."

"Of course. We all do," Megan said as she looked down towards her feet, "The moment any of us assume that we know everything we need to know about anything is the moment we can make a terrible mistake."

She's thinking about Kaldur again, Superboy thinks to himself as he lifts her chin to took her in the eyes as he says, "As long as we keep our minds open, we can only get better. Right?"

Superboy smiles at her, which gets her smiling too. "Right," she says back to him.

At that moment, Batgirl, who had been working on hacking into the security systems, announced "We're in!"

As they entered the facility, Blue Beetle looked around as he said, "The scarab is scanning for possible locations where the adrenaline inhibitor and the mitochondrial tracker agents may be kept."

As they reached an intersection, Superboy Held up a hand and said, "Wait, something's off. I don't hear anything here."

As Beast Boy changed to a beagle, Wonder Girl said, "I don't understand. What do you mean you don't hear anything?"

"I mean I don't hear _anything_: No guards, no automated machinery. Other than the security systems that we disabled upon entry, this place is as quiet as a tomb." Superboy said, concerned tension coloring his tone.

Sniffing around, Beast Boy said, "The freshest scents around here are at least a couple hours old."

"And the only mindprints I'm picking up here is ours," Miss Martian added.

"If this isn't a trap," Superboy said sardonically, "then I'll adopt a monkey."

Batgirl activated her earpiece communicator as she said, "Batgirl to Robin, you finding anything weird on you end?"

"If by weird you're referring to how there's not so much as a rent-a-cop or a janitor around here, then yeah," Robin tensely replied.

"Superboy thinks this is a trap," Batgirl reported, "I am inclined to agree."

Bart breaks in the conversation, "You guys okay?"

Batgirl replies, "For the moment, Bart, but stand by."

"So what's the call?" Robin inquired, "Do we proceed or abort?"

"We will have no time for another attempt," Batgirl said, "We proceed, quickly and cautiously. Get in, get out, stay alert. Twenty minutes, no more. Bart, If you don't hear from us by that time that we're out or on our way, then you come running."

"Got It," Bart affirmed.

"We got only one shot at this, guys. Let's make it count. Batgirl out." Batgirl cut the transmission, then turned towards the others as she said, "Okay, our best chance is to split up. It's risky, but we're on a schedule here. Everyone has their collection devices?" Superboy and the others remove their injection gun-like devices from where they were holstered and hold them up. Batgirl nods in acknowledgement then continues, "Everyone's been briefed on what to look for. You find it, take your sample. Find anything pertinent, good, bad or suspicious, contact one of us immediately. In any case, we meet back up in twelve minutes and get out of here. Let's move!"

With that everyone headed directions, although Connor and Megan lingered a second to grip each other's hand firmly before heading out.

* * *

After a few minutes, Connor wound up in a room with some computers among other items in various states of disrepair. Having determined that the things they were looking for wouldn't be for in this room, he started to head out the opposite door when it slammed down in from of him. Baffled, he turned back towards the door he'd entered from in time to see it slam closed as well. As he was thinking of contacting the others, one of the monitors lit up and Lex Luthor appeared on screen. "Hello, Superboy. It's been a while."

"Luthor?" Superboy sputtered in confusion, "What…when…how'd you know I was here? What do you want?"

"Now there, is that any way to speak to the one who gave you life?" Luthor chided, "Then again, I guess I shouldn't expect too much from someone who breaks into my facility."

"How'd you know I was here?" Superboy repeated slowly, "What. Do. You. Want?"

"Direct and to the point," Lex said, acting as though he's been let down, "Very well then. I've known where you were the moment you had entered one of my facilities, thanks to a device that you were implanted with while you were still 'young'. As for what I want, I want you to bring this facility down on top of your friends' broken corpses. Burn it to the ground."

"Stop playing with me, Luthor!" Superboy said angrily, "You have no possible control over me. Miss Martian saw to that. And I've been examined numerous times since I was broken out of Cadmus Labs, I've never been told that any 'device' had been found in me. Besides, I couldn't 'burn' anything if I wanted to. No heat vision, remember? All thanks to your DNA."

"Ah, Superboy," Lex sighed, still acting disappointed, though sounding more genuine this time, "how anyone with my blood running in their veins can be so naïve and simple-minded truly astounds me. Obviously I lied about your ability to develop heat-vision and flight. Well, maybe 'lied' is a strong way to put it. After all the human DNA in you _does_ impair your ability to develop and access those abilities on your own. However, like any limits, this one can be overcome, and the device inside you will enable you to do just that, if only for as long as it is activated. As for why said device was never discovered; well, I understand that Kryptonian skulls are notoriously thick, and the fact that it was never found tells me that yours must share this trait. And that leads us back to your first statement. While your Martian girlfriend did indeed remove the only subconscious trigger Cadmus was able to plant in you before your untimely release, the device we've been discussing this entire time is in fact an early prototype of the devices we had used on the League 4 years ago."

Superboy, shocked and horrified by this latest revelation, felt his hand rising up, almost of its own accord, before Luthor chided him, "Now don't bother trying to warn your friends, as I've already jammed your communication device. In addition, I've activated the Psi buffers within this room before our conversation began, so your girlfriend has no idea what's been going on here either."

Making a conscious effort to lower his hand. Superboy said "But I was inoculated with the cure-tech. Your device won't work."

"Your "cure-tech" was designed specifically to counter the Starro-tech that we used on the League," Luthor explained slowly, as if to a child, "but your device is a prototype we developed before we discovered the existence of the Starro parasite. Entirely mechanical in nature, it is designed to affect organic lifeforms and can only be activated once."

"If…" Superboy swallowed his nervous tension then continued, "…if I've had this prototype inside me all along, then why…."

"….hadn't I activated it before?" Luthor finished with a smile, "Quite frankly, I didn't want to waste it. You see, It can only be activated once, as I've said, and we've found during the initial test results with Match that it would burn itself out after 2 hours. I blame the resilience of your Kryptonian physiology. Anyway, the device was always intended as a back-up should you ever overcome the implanted commands or grow a conscience, so that we may be able to resume control. I had intended that you would be a sword the Light would use to lead the way toward our triumph. Your friends spoiled that, though, as did your willfulness and stubborn nature. So instead you will be a bomb that will blow away the obstacles that are most able stand in the way of the Light achieving its goals, and will galvanize the public to stand behind us as we do."

As he finished, Luthor pulled a chromed cylindrical device about the size of a pen light from his breast pocket, then flipped up a clear plastic cover that covered a small red button.

"Wait!" Superboy said quickly, "There's no need for that. I'll tell the team that I was unable to find anything, which is true enough, then we'll abort the mission. Afterwards I'll find a way to slip out and come to you. You can then do whatever you want with me; implant your commands, dissect me, use me as a guinea pig, whatever. Just let them out of here."

Connor hated to place himself at Luthor's mercy, but he had little choice here. He could only hope to be able to warn M'gann so that she may help the others prepare adequate defenses against him.

Luthor appeared to consider the offer before announcing, "I'm sorry, but as greatly tempting as your proposal is, I'm afraid that I've heard a speech like this before."

Then he pressed the button.

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the facility, Wonder Girl, Beast boy, Blue Beetle, and Batgirl had reunited in a large room with roller tracks and various machinery, most likely used for the packaging and shipment of finished products.

Batgirl announced as she approached the others, "Okay, except for Superboy and Miss Martian, we're all here. I take it no one found anything?"

"Nothing," Wonder Girl stated.

"Nada," confirmed Blue Beetle.

"I found some extremely sugary drinks with _way_ too many additives," Beast boy commented, "but no evil chemicals."

Batgirl nodded as she added, "I located the vat where we located the dopamine polymerase before, but it's completely empty now. There's hardly a trace of it left. Additionally, the machine it's hooked up to appears to be a dummy, with its connections to the rest of the facility being mere props."

"Yeah, I'd definitely say this is a trap, chica," Blue Beetle said, "All we need is my evil twin and this'd be the Lexcorp farms all over again."

"So we wait one more minute for Con and Meg to show, then if they don't return with better news we find them and get out fast."

At that moment, Miss Martian entered the room, and judging by the expression on her face it was most certainly _not_ good news.

"Sis? What's wrong?" Beast Boy asked, troubled by the look of panic on her face.

"I-i-it's Connor!" Miss Martian said, blind panic causing her to stumble over her words, "I-I-I've lost my connection with him!"

"You mean that psychic connection you constantly share with him? It's gone?"

"Yes!" Miss Martian replied, her panic rising, "I can't feel him…._anywhere_!"

Wonder Girl raised her hand to her own mouth as she said, "You don't think he's….dead? Do you?"

"No, I don't think so. At least, I hope not. I didn't feel him die, at least. It was more like I was watching a TV channel when the picture started getting worse and worse due to bad weather until the reception was completely lost!"

"You tried reaching him on the communicator?" Batgirl said in as calming tone of voice as she could manage.

"Yes! Multiple times, at least until I accidentally broke it by pressing too hard!" Miss Martian said as she showed them the broken pieces in her hand.

"Batgirl to Superboy, come in!" She waited through a silence until she hit the communicator in her ear again and said "Batgirl to Team B, do you read? Over." Again, nothing. "Batgirl to Wally." Batgirl to Watchtower, can anybody hear me?" Finally she lowered her hand from her ear. "Jammed. That's it, guys! Beetle, start scanning. We're finding Superboy and getting out of here _now!_" Batgirl barked tensely.

Blue Beetle had the Scarab create a sensor dish that projected from his right shoulder, but after only a half-second of scanning he announced in confusion, "That's strange, I'm detecting that he's just outside the door."

"What?" Miss Martian asked, even more confused that Blue Beetle, "But I still can't feel him, how could…" She broke off as the door opened, revealing a sight that stunned them all into silence. The others' faces were filled with shock and confusion, but none of them held quite the amount of horror that M'gann's did. None of them had seen or heard of this before. With the exception that his shorn head was still steaming like a beach at the height of summer, his face cold and blank rather than filled with a cruel pleasure, and the fact that a capital L had been recently burned across the shield in his chest, this was exactly the picture of the nightmare she'd shared with Connor most every night, now brought into horrific reality.

Miss Martian turned to the others, who still did not comprehend the danger, and yelled, "Run!" as Superboy's eyes lit up and fired twin deadly beams directly at her.

* * *

Miss Martian barely managed to dodge out of the way, taking Beast Boy out of the line of fire with a tackle as the beams passed unobstructed through where her head had just been till they burned a hole through a solid metal wall on the opposite end of the room.

_Heat vision!_ M'gann thought to herself in confusion, _He has __**heat vision**__! But __**how**__?! We've had no contact with Luthor since the Reach were escorted from Earth, and I know he never accepted anymore shields from him anyway. So what happened to him?!_

While Miss Martian was still reeling in confusion, Beast Boy wasted no time in heeding her suggestion. Wriggling out from underneath her, he changed into a cheetah and took off for the exit that was closest to him and furthest from Superboy. However, with a minimal amount of effort, Superboy leapt and literally flew after him, catching up before he could within 20 meters of the door and, with a casual backswing of his hand, smacked him against the wall on his other side, where Beast Boy slumped down and remained still.

"Garfield!" M'gann yelled as she flew quickly to his side. Checking quickly both physically and psychically, she found that he was unconscious but alive, though he may suffer from some broken or bruised bones when he comes to. As she was conducting her examination, she heard Batgirl saying, "This is Batgirl broadcasting to any Leaguers who can possibly pick up my signal; this is a Code Black! I repeat, We're experiencing a Code Black! Superboy has gone rogue! I Repeat! Superboy's gone ro-aaiiieeee!"

Miss Martian looked up in time to see Superboy rake Batgirl with his heat vision. As she collapsed in pain, M'gann saw that the Kevlar armor had saved Barbara from the worst of the injuries, but where it had burned through red welts were forming on her back. Seeing Superboy come around for another pass, Miss Martian used a Psi-blast to knock her out of the line of fire, though that combined with the shock of her injuries caused her to pass out.

With a mental cry of _Why?!_, M'gann plunged into Connor's mind. What she experienced there, though, shocked her more deeply than his nightmare appearance or the ultra-violence he was unleashing on his friends; M'gann encountered no resistance _at all!_ She had encountered _nothing!_ No Connor being angry, or enjoying what he was doing, or struggling to stop himself from doing it. No alien intelligence directing his body to do what it wanted him do. No psychic signals remote controlling him like a puppet. Absolutely _nothing_ was found in in his _mind at all!_ It was like someone had taken everything that made up Connor, every part of him that he loved, and took it someplace that she couldn't see. _No_, she corrected herself, _not someone! It's __**Luthor**__! I __**know**__ he's responsible for this! _For one blinding moment, M'gann felt the old need for vengeance take hold of her again, the desire to punish those responsible for her pain without any restraints, and right now Lex was at the top of her list. Then the madness passed, and she realized that vengeance won't save her friends or Connor. And she had to believe that Connor could be saved, otherwise she was lost!

Scanning his mind once more, M'gann wondered what she could have missed though. She _knows_ that she removed the only command Cadmus had managed to plant in his mind before his release. She _confirmed_ that there were no other triggers that they could have, that _Luthor_ could have used to set him loose. She knows his mind better than she knows _herself_! So why was this happening?!

Still finding nothing, she retreated from his mind to see Wonder Girl holding her head and looking dizzy, while Blue Beetle was trying to burn Superboy with a plasma beam. Beyond apparently preventing Superboy from advancing any faster than he was currently, and allowing Blue Beetle to maintain his distance by retreating backwards, the beam had no other visible effect.

"_Let me have control, Jaime Reyes_," the Scarab said to him, "_I will unleash the full force of the plasma blast and vaporize the rogue Superboy!_"

"No way, amigo," Jamie responded, "Superboy's my amigo too! Besides, if he's at full Kryptonian strength, I doubt that even full strength will do more than give him a tan before he crushes us, but I have an idea. He's got sensitive hearing, so let's crank up the decibels!"

The Scarab, sounding impressed, said, "_Your analysis of the situation is….most astounding, Jamie Reyes! Very well,_" the gauntlet on Blue Beetle's other hand reconfigured into a sonic cannon. "_Sonic cannon at full capacity._"

As Blue Beetle pointed the cannon as Superboy, he yelled, "Let's make the dogs howl!" then he unleashed a sonic barrage at him.

The effect was instantaneous: Superboy's advance slowed as he started wincing in pain. When Blue Beetle configured his other cannon into another sonic cannon to unleash a double blast, Superboy wound up sagging to his knees as he clutched his hands to his head, and even Miss Martian found she had to cover her ears as she reconfigured her facial features to remove them.

Just when it seemed that Blue Beetle had the situation in hand, Superboy raised his head and unleashed his heat vision, hitting and destroying both cannons at the same time. As the Blue Beetle reared back in pain, Superboy started to rise to his feet when he was suddenly stopped as Wonder Girl, who had recovered her senses once again, had bound his arms to his sides with her lasso. Tears filling up her eyes, she demanded, "Connor! Why are you doing this?!"

At this question, life suddenly returned to his face as it filled with sorrow, dismay and fear. As if these events weren't enough to knock M'gann off her feet, she suddenly felt him there again; saw his thoughts, his memories, especially those from the moment she lost contact with him, and in that moment she knew everything an instant before he started explaining it to Cassie.

"It's Luthor," he said, even while his body struggled to get free of the lasso, "he activated a mind control device he had implanted in me while I was still growing. It's a prototype of the ones from 4 years ago, though with no Starro DNA, so it's immune to the cure-tech."

"What's he want?" Cassie asked. "You guys dead and this place destroyed," Superboy answered, "I think he plans to use us to further disgrace the League and to ensure that he gets elected Secretary General."

"Can't you fight him?" Cassie asked desperately, her arms straining. "I've been trying!" Connor responded, "But I've been unable to speak or even make my thoughts known until you used the lasso." "What can we do?" Cassie asked. Connor answered, "The device won't last longer than two hours upon activation. After that it can never be activated again."

"Two _hours_? It's only been five _minutes_! There's no way we can hold out much longer!" Cassie exclaimed.

"Then you have to end it,' Connor said with an air of finality.

M'gann's heart missed a beat even as Cassie said incredulously, "What are you saying Connor?" "You have to do what it takes to stop me," Connor said simply, "Otherwise, Lex'll use me use me to kill you all!"

M'gann found herself shaking her head along with Cassie as Connor yelled, "_Do it!_"

In that instant, Cassie found that he grip on the lasso slipped enough for Connor to get his forearms free. Superboy then gripped the lasso where it crossed in front of him and used super-speed and proceeded to use Wonder Girl as the business end of a flail against Blue Beetle standing behind him, who flew backwards unconscious. He then reversed the motion to slam her against the wall beside them, then finally an overhead swing to slam her into the ground. As she finally lost her grip on the lasso, her breath coming out in a series of hacking coughs, Superboy shrugged off the lasso, picked Wonder Girl up and slammed her into the wall again. He then started unleashing a series of super-speed, super-strength punches all across her face and shoulders even while Connor started protesting, "No! No! No! No! _Nooooo!_"

This action, along with his accompanying protest, galvanize Miss Martian into action. As she flew at Connor, her lower half changing to that of a cephalopod, and she wrapped all ten limbs around him from behind as she flew him straight through the ceiling. As they continued to go straight up, Connor implored M'gann, "You have to do it, M'gann! Stop me and save the others!"

"No!" M'gann protested, as she used her shape-shifting to create a tendril on the side of her face to grab Connor's communicator from his ear and insert it into her own, "I'm taking you straight to Watchtower! Once out of range of Luthor's jamming, I'll have them Zeta us in so they can restrain you and neutralize the device that Luthor's using to control you."

Straining, Connor said "He. Won't. Let you." He then broke free of her grasp and drove them back down towards the ground. Miss Martian changed her lower half back into legs and waist to gain some leverage, but they still crashed back into the facility with the force of a meteor. Getting back to his feet, Superboy Picked Miss Martian up by the neck and slammed her into the nearest wall. M'gann opened her eyes in time to see Connor's light up and, knowing what was coming next, grabbed his head and twisted it to the side just as the deadly energy poured forth from them. As Superboy continues to try and fix his gaze on her, Connor desperately beseeches Megan, "You have to do it, Megan! Take me out of commission!" "No!" Megan responds, her voice trembling from both the strain of the battle and the terrible toll of the emotions rampaging through her, "There's got to be another way!" "Stop me!" Superboy screams desperately, tears pouring from his eyes as rapidly as the deadly energy, "_Kill me!_" "_I can't!_" Ms. Martian yells back, tears flowing down her own face as the beams creep ever closer to it.

Suddenly, in a blur of motion, Bart appears at Superboy's side and, in a burst of super-speed that only the Flash and other riders of the lightning can attain, Bart grabbed Superboy by the shoulders, swung him away from Miss Martian and flung him against the opposite wall so that he bounced off and fell on his face.

"What the _Mode_ is going on here?!" Bart exclaimed.

"Explanations _later_," Miss Martian barked as she rushed over to Superboy and wrenched his arms behind his back, "Cassie's lasso _now!_"

Bart brought M'gann her the lasso before she could blink and she proceeded to use it to hogtie her boyfriend. As he struggled to get free again, which she knew wouldn't take long, she said, "I'm sorry Connor, this is very likely gonna hurt. I just hope that is the worst that will happen." Then, knowing that the lives of her friends and the one that she loves is at stake, she exercised the greatest amount of control she had ever used before and phased her hand into the back of Connor's skull. Immediately she felt pain, worse than when she first tried to phase through a simple wooden wall, worse than when she started phasing through more dense materials like steel and titanium. The pain she felt as she phased through his skull was worse than the densest materials she'd ever successfully phased through, but she pushed through the pain and maintained control because the pain Connor's screams caused in her heart hurt much worse. Finally, she breached the inner wall of his skull and felt the fluid suspension cushioning and supporting the spongy material of his brain, which she phased through as well. Carefully maintaining a fine level of control, she felt along until she came across something that most certainly didn't belong. Stretching between his two hemispheres at the base of his grey matter, the device was like a web constructed by some robot spider. Moving with the greatest care, changing he fingers' shape to act with the greatest precision, she proceeded to break the device apart. Each time his screams increased in volume it was like the worst torture she imagined any species could ever come up with, made even worse by the fact that she could feel the pain herself through their shared connection. Finally, it was over; the device was mostly a miniscule pile of scrap floating around in his skull, and what was left attached to his grey matter she could fell was no longer functioning on even the most basic level, so she carefully extracted her hand from his head. As his screams quieted, His ragged breathing settled into a gentler rhythm, his eyes fluttered closed and he finally stopped struggling. When she confirmed that he was merely resting, her own breathing settled into a gentle rhythm as well.

After she'd rested for a minute, Bart asked again, "Okay, you wanna explain what that was all about now?" as Jamie and Cassie got back to their feet and limped their way over to where he was. Taking a beep breath, She summarized as much of it as she could as quickly as she was able: the purpose of the trap, how Luthor made Connor turn Mr. Hyde, and how she was finally able to stop him. The only thing she left unsaid was the dream; that was far too private.

"Wow," Bart said, his eyes still bugging out, "Lex did that to his own son? That's messed up!"

"Luthor's not his father," Megan corrected, "He merely supplied half his DNA. But yeah; messed up. So, how'd you know to come?"

Bart said simply, "You guys missed your deadline. And I saw a suspicious shooting star off in your guys' direction."

"Megs?" Connor croaked from behind her. Turning, she prompted, "Yes?" "You were right," he responded with a smile that was almost too painful to see, "that did hurt."

Laughing, Megan wiped a tear from her eye as she said, "At least you're back with us now, and we're all alive to tell the tale. That's what matters."

"So, amigo, tell us," Jamie said as he stood beside Bart, "how'd it feel having your girl literally inside your head?" Still smiling, Connor responded, "Like I had a weed eater running loose inside my skull."

Gesturing back towards Batgirl and Beast Boy, Cassie said "We'd better gather them up and all of us need to report to the Watchtower's medical wing." Blue Beetle carefully picked up Beast Boy while Wonder Girl gently lifted Batgirl while Connor, after attempting to stand twice only to lose his balance and fall, accepted Megan offer of support. Then they all made their way outside where Miss Martian summoned the drop ship and they flew off into the night.

* * *

In Lexcorp's CEO office, Lex Luthor was watching footage of Team A's less than graceful departure that was captured by a hidden security camera.

"Well, they all seem to be alive, more or less, and the facility is still standing." Mercy said, as though she'd expected this scenario.

"That's true, but there was a considerable amount of damage done there, which we can play up, and we managed to sow a seed of doubt within this tightly knit team that hasn't had any reason to doubt each other in quite some time. Additionally, judging by their injuries, I imagine that our scientific "clean-up" crew will find plenty of interesting DNA to play with. Finally," he finished with a smile, "while they had disabled the inner security systems, they failed to notice the secondary outer security and were caught on camera. All in all, I'd call this evening an overwhelming success." Lex templed his fingers as his smile brightened, then he turned to the windows to watch the sun rise over the Metropolis horizon.

* * *

In the Watchtower's medical wing, Ray Palmer gently extracts the last of the fragments of the device from Connor's skull as Martian Manhunter, Batman and many members of the Team, including Megan, Nightwing, Robin, Garfield (his arm in a sling and his ribs bandaged) and Barbara (wearing a simple hospital nightgown and clearly favoring her back) watching the procedure. Some look concerned, others resentful and with an air of distrust, but it's clear that they all had to be there. Placing the fragment in the metal bowl beside the bed, Ray announced "That's the last of them" While some of the onlookers, including Megan, share a collective sigh of relief, others like Robin maintain their stoic silence. "While I was inside, I took some readings and confirmed that the device was effectively destroyed through Miss Martian's clever intervention and that there was nothing left active. Additionally, I confirmed that there was nothing else left over from his stay at Cadmus, so there should be no more surprises."

"So we can trust him _now_?" Robin exploded, crossing his arms as he continued, "Because we've all heard that before."

Cassie, her face a mass of purple and black bruises, said gently, "Tim…", as she started to reach a comforting hand to lay upon Robin's shoulder.

Robin rounded on her, yelling, "He nearly _killed_ you, nearly killed _all of you_, and you're gonna _stand there_ and _defend him?!_"

Robin looked looked around at the mixture of expressions on everyone's faces; anger, sympathy, pity. Some looked as though they might agree with him, but were put off by his lack of tact, others simply looked upset with him. Ray Palmer looked especially upset with Robin for he'd broken one of the unspoken rules that he insisted everyone follow: no yelling is to be allowed in the medical wing while occupied, especially yelling about the patients. Robin lingered on the faces of Nightwing, who looked torn between his desire to trust his long-time friend and his concern over what he'd done to Barbara, and on Cassie, who simply looked hurt.

"Sorry," he said to Cassie. To the others he said, "Trust him if you want, I don't care. I'm not going to ask for his dismissal. I'd rather have him where can keep an eye on him anyway." As he walks out the door he adds, "With a load of Kryptonite in my utility belt." A couple others follow Robin out the door.

Batman, with his usual penchant for putting words to the obvious, said, "That might be a problem." "You think?" Ray replied. "His comments were out of line," Batman continued, "I'll have a talk with him when we're done here."

"He's your protégée," Manhunter interjected, "thus it's up to you to decide how best to deal with him. But I'd suggest you at least wait 'till the morning. Give him time to cool down. Otherwise, I fear we risk creating another Arsenal."

Batman hesitates before saying, "I'll take it under advisement. In the meantime, we need to discuss the recent mission. The product samples that team B managed to bring back proved to be free of the three chemicals that were present in the Reach drink. In other words, the dopamine that we found on our previous incursion into Lexcorp turned out to be bait for tonight's trap, and we fell for it; hook, line and sinker. You all managed to survive the trap, and under some of the most trying conditions, and for that you deserve some recognition. However, I am certain that the Light will use this incident as the final push to get Luthor into office, which means that things will only get more difficult from here." Grabbing the bowl from the table by Superboy's bed. "I'll take this to the lab for analysis. Get some rest tonight, everyone." And with that, Batman left the room.

The room was silent for a few moments afterward, then Superboy broke the silence asking, "Are we done here, Doctor Palmer?"

Ray, caught off-guard, said, "Oh, um, yes. The procedure's complete, though I highly recommend that you get plenty of rest."

Connor replied, "If it's all the same to you, sir, I think I'll rest better in my own room. Quieter."

"Yes, of course." Ray said back, then as Connor got up to leave he called out, "Connor, you shouldn't take the things Tim said to heart. He's simply concerned about Cassie's safety. I'm sure that if someone did something like that to Megan, you'd feel the same way."

Connor sighed sadly, then said as he continued out the door, "Someone _did_ do something like that to Meg, and you're looking right at him."

"Connor…" Megan said softly, then started to get up to follow him, but J'onn placed a hand on her shoulder. She then turned to look at him and bit out, "I hope you're not going to suggest that I let him go now, because if you _are_…."

J'onn J'onzz looked kindly on his niece as he said, "Of course not M'gann. I believe he needs you now more than ever. I merely wish to discuss with you myself the recent mission." As she sat back down looking pensive, J'onn continued, "When Connor was being forced to try and kill you, he requested that you kill him to stop him. Now for you that would've been easy. Now I don't mean easy _here_…" he interjected quickly, gesturing at her heart, "…I mean that with your abilities you could've done it without difficulty, and there are many others who would've taken that choice in your position. But you chose the harder path, risking everything including your own life to save him instead. I find that to be rather noble."

Megan started to smile at his praise, but J'onn wasn't done. "However, you then did something rather foolish. You have had difficulty phasing through solid objects, which is an advanced technique not many can master, and it takes considerable training to do so. Even _I_ have never been able to phase through something as dense as Kryptonian physiology. But you took it to the extreme and phased through the boy's skull _while_ shape-shifting _and_ performing complex surgery that many surgeons with infinitely more experience than you would've found extremely difficult, if not impossible. "

"But….I thought…" Megan sputtered, "…I couldn't just…"

J'onn held up his hand to silence her as he continued, "In the end, you challenged yourself, pushed past your limits, and achieved something that many would've found to be impossible. I have never been as proud of you as I am right now, and I'm sure you parents would be proud of you too."

Megan, stunned by this turn of conversation, managed to say, "Really, Uncle J'onn?"

"Indeed," J'onn affirmed, "In fact, If you ever decided that you would like to retire from the life of a hero, I believe you would make a fine doctor on any number of worlds. _With_ the proper training, of course."

At that Megan leapt up and hugged her uncle, saying repeatedly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Of course, my dear" J'onn said fondly as he disentangled himself from her embrace, "Now I do believe there's a young man who's in dire need of some emotional healing, "Doctor" M'orzz."

"Of course," she said as she rushed out the door, "and thank you again."

When she was out of sight of the two men, Ray Palmer said, "That was awful kind of you, John."

"Not at all, Ray," J'onn countered, "I believe that to be the truth. If she should choose that path, I believe that she could become one of the greats. Of course, that's assuming that we all survive what's coming long enough for her to make that choice."

* * *

Back at Connor's room, Megan approached the door. She had been prepared to knock, but the door slid open automatically. He was expecting visitors tonight, then, she thought, but as she caught the negative emotions rolling off of him, she began to worry what_ kind_ of visitors he was hoping to see come through his door. Was he hoping that someone might take up Robin's Kryptonite idea? She mentally gasped, then shook off the thought as she entered his door. "Connor?" The lights were off, but she could make him out sitting on his bed just fine. "It's me," she tried again, "it's Megan."

He briefly glanced up at her, then quickly back down at the floor. _He won't look at me,_ Megan thought morosely, _Had I perhaps went too far in trying to save him? Was my phasing into him some sort of…_ Then she caught sight of his most recent thoughts. _No,_ she corrected herself, _he's upset with __**himself**__. He's ashamed of what he nearly did to me and the others_. Dragging a chair so that she could sit facing him, she said "Connor, that wasn't _you_. That was _Luthor!_ It was all _Luthor!_ He tried to turn you against us, but he used up his one shot to do so. Now he can never do that to you again, can't you see that?"

Connor still wouldn't respond, but his next thought sent her rocking back in her chair as she gasped, "Connor? Don't tell me that you aren't actually thinking of breaking up with me 'for my own good' again,_ are you?_"

This statement shocks Superboy into speaking, "What? No, I would never do that to you again! I was just thinking that maybe you should. Break up with me, that is."

"Why would you think that?" She asked fretfully.

"I hurt you, Megs," Connor said morosely, "I tried to kill you, to kill the others. Lagoon Boy would never have done that, nor would Static or any of the others. Maybe you would live longer and be happier if you chose someone else."

"Maybe," Megan said, "maybe not. All relationships carry risks, Connor. You never know if the one you're interested in comes from a long line of abuse, or if they have a mental problem that they have no control over, or if they have a spark of something within them that could detonate and end all life in the universe as we know it. The point is that there's no guarantee I would 'live longer' in another relationship. As for being happier," she lifted his chin and smiles as she looked into his eyes, "You saw me for who I really was, Connor, long before I gathered the courage to reveal it to everyone. You saw me and accepted me for who I am. There's no question in my mind that I'm the happiest I could ever be. You just need to accept the one who tried to hurt me wasn't you but…"

"…Luthor, I know," Connor interrupted, making no effort to break he contact with his chin, but casting his eyes downward so that he doesn't have to look her in the eyes as he continued, "but I should have been stronger. I should've fought him, stopped him from making me hurt you guys. I should've took off the moment I heard what he planned to make me do. And I knew that it was a trap the moment we entered the place, but I didn't…"

Megan interrupted him by placing her finger on his lips, then said, "We all have our demons, Connor, we all have our regrets. Back at the facility, when I entered your mind and didn't find you there, I wanted to _kill_ Luthor! I wanted to go to his office, _rip_ from him everything that we would need to know about the Light and their plans, and leave him a _vegetable!_ That impulse may be something that I may never be fully free of, but I know that as long as I have you as my conscience I'll be able to control it."

She felt him sigh as he started to lose his grip on some of his self-hate, then started to breathe freely herself. "Here," she said as she removed her finger from his mouth to remove something that was tucked behind her in the waistband of her jeans, "I brought something to cheer you up." Then she brought her hand back around to show him what was in it.

It was a hand-stitched sock monkey.

Conner stared at it for a few seconds before looking back up at her, a hint of a smile tugging at one corner of his lips as he said, "You know I still don't like monkeys."

Megan, with a hint of a smile her own, replied, "He got you to smile, though"

Then Connor's smile turned into the real thing, which prompted a smile from Megan in return. Then they placed their hands on the other's shoulders and rested their foreheads on each other, not in a intimate way but merely offering each other mutual comfort.

* * *

The next day, on the G. Gordon Godfrey Show, Godfrey was looking out at his audience with a strained expression. "Good morning everyone, I hope you all slept well last night, because _I_ sure didn't. For over a year I've been telling you that your 'heroes' aren't heroes! Earlier this week I showed you proof of that very fact! And now someone caused extensive vandalism to a Lexcorp production facility that employs thousands of workers! And 'who could've done such a thing' you ask? Why, your_ heroes_!"

He jabbed his finger at a screen showing the security feed from the camera stationed outside of the Lexcorp production facility. "Thanks to an anonymous tip from within Lexcorp, we have a security feed showing your heroes' protégées breaking in to said facility. Then after some time they apparently had a fight amongst themselves," he continued, referring to the part where Miss Martian flew Superboy out through the roof, where Superboy crashed them back into it, then where they all exited looking worse for the wear. "So what were they fighting about, hmmm? Was it a lover's quarrel? Did one of them grow a conscience and the others tried to silence him? Did they have a disagreement about who get's a particular 'souvenir'? I don't know, all I do know is we can't trust these vigilantes who cause anarchy in the name of _justice!_"

Godfrey took a calming breath and continued as the screen inner screen changed to that of one showing a press conference about to begin. "And now we have a statement from the CEO of Lexcorp Enterprises and Secretary General hopeful, Lex Luthor." The screen zooms in on the inner screen as Lex takes the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming here today. I'm sure that you've heard by now about the unfortunate act of vandalism that was unfortunately perpetrated by a young group of heroes. Now I don't know why they would've chosen to do this, but I'm glad I had my employees go home early that night and gave them today off so they can focus on the election. Because of that many lives were spared. Now rest assured that we can repair the damage and that the employees will be covered financially while those repairs take place."

* * *

In the Kent's apartment in Metropolis, Lex's speech is still going on the LCD TV in the living room.

"And I hope that this unfortunate incident doesn't frighten any of you from going to the polls today. And though I don't know why those kids fought amongst themselves, I do hope they get well soon."

"The _blazes_ you don't know!" Clark Kent yelled as twin beams turned the TV screen to slag.

Lois Lane placed a comforting hand on one of Clark's heaving shoulders, his furious gaze still on the ruined TV though no longer blazing with heat vision, as she reached for his glasses with another hand and said, "Clark, please, you need to calm down."

" 'Calm down'?" Clark turned towards Lois, making a concentrated effort to refrain from yelling at her as he said, "Lois, that man….It's bad enough that he tried to kill me more times than I can count and made certain that I have no way to prove it! But for him to turn Connor into his personal flying monkey and to make him try and kill his friends to boot! Lois, he's just a _child!_ Forget what age he looks like, what knowledge he's been programmed with, he's only been on this earth for six years! And Lex tried to make him kill _Megan!_ If he had ever tried to make _me_ kill _you_…" Clark took a deep breath before continuing, "…I honestly don't think that there's enough Kryptonite on this planet to keep me from taking him out of it."

"I understand all that," Lois said, "but while ruining the TV might make _you_ feel better, I don't think that will help _Connor_."

Clark sighed as he said, "You're right, Lois, as usual."

Lois handed Clark his glasses, then walked over to the TV as she said, "So why don't you go talk to go talk to Connor while I dispose of this and shop around for a replacement, then we'll meet back at the polling place around 3:00 pm. That bastard may win this election, but I'll be _dammed_ if it's unopposed."

"What will you tell the neighbors had happened to it?" Clark asked as she unplugged the TV.

Lois turned towards him and said, "That I was playing Wii Sports and forgot my wrist strap," then she deliberately dropped it, and what was left of the TV broke into several large fragments, "and accidentally dropped it on the way to the dumpster."

"I knew there was a reason I asked you to marry me," he said as he kissed her, then in a blur of motion he had all the pieces of the TV stuffed into a large garbage bag, "I'll see you soon." Then he picked up the bag, waving off Lois's protests, and walked out the door with Lois following behind.'

* * *

Later that night, after the polls had closed, everyone had gathered into several different groups to watch the results:

Wally and Artemis with her mother at her place; Connor and Megan with Lois Lane, Clark Kent and his parents, Jonathan and Martha at the Kent Farm; Bart and Barry Allen with the other remaining Speedsters at Jay Garrick's; Nightwing, Barbara and Beast Boy at Watchtower's Medical wing; and so on. Though the locations are varied, the tension in each place feels the same. They all know that much is riding on the outcome of this election, and that they all could be looking at some very dark days ahead.

"This is Cat Grant reporting for GBS on the special election for the replacement of Tsang as Secretary General, and judging by the numbers it is a record breaking turnout to the polls, and not just for the United States but for every UN affiliated country. Also what's making this vote historic is that one of the hopefuls, our own Lex Luthor, has had no previous experience in politics; a precedent as-of-before unheard of in this esteemed position. The question is, will this underdog live up to what the opinion polls have predicted and make history today?"

* * *

Meanwhile, on Apokolpis, Desaad and Darkseid are watching the intercepted broadcast signal on a holographic screen projected by a Fatherbox. "The results are in," Cat Grant says, "And by a margin of approximately 2 to 1, Lex Luthor has been elected the new Secretary General!"

Smiling an impressed smile, Darkseid says, "Well played, Luthor. Well played indeed."

End of chapter


	3. 3) Endangered

**Endangered**

Note: this chapter takes place after the Smallville: Season 11 crossover "Through the looking Glass"

It is approaching evening when Lois Lane pulls up at the Kent's farm. Shutting off her engine and the headlights, she gets out of the car while speaking on the phone.

"Yeah, Perry, I'll have that story sent in to you later on tonight. Actually Clark's working on the angle of the League's reaction to Luthor's inauguration. Of course, once he's back we'll compare notes and send them in to you. Don't worry, I won't forget. 'Night, chief." As Lois disconnects the call, she adds with a troubled expression, "As much as I'd like to forget this really happened."

As she rounded the nose of her car and headed for the porch, the front door opens to reveal Martha Kent behind it. "Welcome back, Lois!" Martha said, beaming. After a quick glance around, she added, "Guess Clark's not back yet?"

As she entered, Lois gave Martha and Jonathan, who just stepped in from the living room behind his wife, as she answered, "Hi Martha, Jonathan! Sorry, but after the conference Luthor asked the Leaguers to stay a bit longer for a private word, so Clark lingered a while longer to get their reactions to the conference."

Sharing a significant glance with Lois and Jonathan, Martha closed the front door behind her as she said, "I hope Clark will be alright."

Understanding she can speak freely now, Lois said, "I'm sure he'll be alright, Manhunter and Red Tornado are with him. Normally I wouldn't worry about him at all, but I need to get my set replaced after that Godfrey report the other day."

The Kents nodded, understanding her referring to Clark's losing his cool and melting down her TV in Metropolis. Jonathan then said, "I don't think I've seen or even heard about Clark losing his temper since he was last in jr. high."

"He feels very protective of Connor," Lois explained, "Whether that stems from how older brother-like Clark's been to him, or if the feeling's more paternal in nature, I'm not sure." As Lois turns back to face the front door, she continues, "All I can be certain about is that I believe that Clark won't want to share Luthor's company today for any longer than he has to. In fact, I wouldn't doubt that he just may break the sound barrier on his way back."

As if prompted by her words, a large echoing boom rattled the house. This wasn't the sound of a sonic boom, however, but rather that of a nearby impact and it was accompanied by a brilliant flash of light. After sharing a startled glance with one another, Jonathan Kent rushed over to look out one of the front windows as he said, "That came from over by Lawson's field," as Lois fumbled for her camera and her car keys.

"With any luck," Lois said as she raced back out the front door, "this will bump that megalomaniac's inauguration off of Page 1!"

Before Lois could get to the driver side door, she slowed to a stop as she spotted a small silhouette rapidly approaching from the impact site. When it was close enough, Lois saw that it was Connor and Megan, the two off them flying in and carrying a small craft whose origins were definitely not from this world. As the Kents came out behind her, Lois heard Connor, who was holding up the back end of the craft, ask Megan, "Are you doing all right up there?" at which Megan chuckled and looked back as she responded good naturedly, "I'm fine, Connor. Just focus on holding your end, okay?"

Lois stared dumbfounded as she stammered, "Connor? Megan? Why….what…?"

Connor explained simply, "It crashed in Lawson's field."

Lois started to raise her camera, prepared to ask more questions, but Jonathan placed a gentle restraining hand on her shoulder as he said, with a tremulous tone of deja vu in his voice, "You may want to hold off on the pictures for a moment, Lois."

"What? Why?" Lois asked him. Then, when Megan lowered her end so everyone could get a better look, Lois said, "Oh," for she saw a symbol on the nose that everyone there knew rather well; the S shield frequently worn by her fiancée.

* * *

In the barn, Lois, Martha, Connor and Megan are gathered around the spacecraft while Jonathan Kent finishes closing the barn door behind them and turns on the overhead lights.

"It looks so much like the one we found Clark in," Martha remarked with awe, "only so much bigger."

"Who or what do you suppose is in there?" Lois asked, "One of Clark's parents? A brother or sister he didn't know about?"

"Clark was an only child, of that much we're certain," Jonathan said as he rejoined them, then continued with a significant glance at Martha, "As for it being one of his parents, I can't imagine that one of them would willingly consent to evacuating without the other. Also, if Jor-El had sent it here, I'm sure it would have gotten here long before now."

"Then who could it be?" Lois asked again.

After Connor and Megan glanced at one another, Connor answered, "We have reason to believe that it's Clark's cousin Kara."

"What makes you say that?" Martha asked him.

"We heard about her during an unexpected journey we took this afternoon," Megan responded, then she sagged slightly as she clutched her head in pain.

As everyone else started a step forward in concern, Connor placed a supporting arm around her shoulders as he asked, "Are you okay, Meg?"

"Yes," Megan said as she straightened back up again, "Just a flare-up. It's fading again, so I'll be fine. What do you say we let whoever's in there out so they can stretch their legs?"

Jonathan then placed his hand on the S shield, but when nothing happened his brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand," Jonathan said, "That's how we opened Clark's craft befo…"

Jonathan was interrupted by an electronic voice speaking Kryptonian emanating from the ship itself. Concentrating, Connor announced, "I couldn't understand everything it said, but I caught 'House of El' and 'restricted'. I guess whomever sent this ship knew or figured that one of them would be here when it arrived and made it so that only one of that family could open it when it got here."

"So we have to wait till Clark gets back?" Lois asked.

"Maybe," Conner said, "then again, if this thing reads DNA patterns, then maybe there's enough similarity between us that…" Connor trailed off as he placed hi hand in the House of El's crest. After another moment, the ship said something else in Kryptonian before the top quickly irised open, revealing a beautiful blond female in her teens, wearing white robes with the house of El emblazoned in black across her chest, lying peacefully in some sort of suspension fluid that completely covered her. As they watched, the fluid quickly drained through vents hidden in the ship's compartment. When it was completely empty, her eyes snapped open and she sat up ramrod straight, yelling something in Kryptonian as she reached beseechingly on front of her. As her eyes blinked in confusion at her unfamiliar surroundings, she looked around until she spotted Connor and the others, then her eyes widened in terror as she backed as far away as the ship's small space would allow, speaking in rapid-fire Kryptonian.

"She's speaking too fast for me to catch anything she's saying," Connor stated, then he turned towards Megan and asked, "Could you…?"

Her head hurt too much right now to perform a mind link translation with everyone, but Megan was able to glean enough from the girl's mind to be able to say to her in perfect Kryptonian, *There is no need to be frightened. We are all friends here.*

*You can speak my language?* the girl said in astonishment, *Who are you? From what house do you hail? Where am I? What has happened to my family?*

*Let's take this slowly,* Megan said calmingly, *My name is M'gann M'orzz, and I'm not of one of your Kryptonian Houses but from Mars*

*Mars?* the girl said fretfully, *I'm in Sol's system? But how? My father said he was sending me to my cousin! And how are you able to speak my language?*

*My people are telepaths,* Megan explained, "I was able to get enough knowledge from your mind to be able to…*

*You were inside my head?!* the girl said fearfully, pressing her hands her head as if that would keep Megan out.

*Don't worry, I only obtained knowledge of your language, nothing more,* Megan said soothingly, then added with a rueful smile, *Even if my head wasn't hurting too much to do more, I'd never violate your privacy without your permission. I can guess what it is, but would you tell me your name?*

*Kar…* the girl cleared her throat, then tried again, *Kara Zor-EL.*

Megan nodded, expecting this answer, then asked, *and the cousin you mentioned, that would be Kal-El?*

*You know my cousin?* Kara exclaimed, a hopeful light in her eyes, *What about my father, Zor-El, and my uncle, Jor EL? Are they here?*

Megan sighed, knowing that what she had to tell Kara would be difficult for her to accept, but at the same time aware that she can't put off saying it or it would make accepting it harder. *I'm sorry Kara, we've only met Kal-El. He was sent here, to Earth, by his father, much the same way as you were sent here by yours, only he arrived here many years ago. As far as we knew, until today, Kal-El was the last survivor of Krypton. I regret saying this, but it seems that you two, and a few scattered artifacts, are all that remains of your word. Krypton is gone. I'm sorry*

As Megan spoke, Kara's face fell more and more, until the hope in her eyes is completely replaced by despair and anguish. *No!* Kara choked out in a whisper, her voice gradually raising as she spoke, *It's not true! It can't be true! You're lying! _Noooooooo!_*

As Kara's eyes lit up, Megan thought, Oh nuts!, Before she hollered to everyone, "Down!" as she dove herself. No one there needed any encouragement, however, as everyone present was familiar enough with Clark to recognize the tell-tale signs of the activation of heat-vision. Megan's hesitating in order to warn the others, however, cost her as the scalding beams clipped her shoulder during her attempt to dodge them. As Megan screamed in pain and Connor raced to her side to shield her from any further blasts, Kara started panicking at this unusual development. *What is happening to me?!* she screamed breathlessly. She could not close her eyes without the beams scalding her eyelids, and when she tried to cover her eyes with her hands the beams burned them too. When the pain caused her to instinctively jump, she found herself floating in the air. With her twisting around in panic and the force of the heat-vision adding to the momentum, Kara was quickly taking the appearance of a Jumping-Jack style firework.

Looking up at Connor, Megan quickly said, "Don't worry about me, just stabilize Kara's spinning and get her out of here. Otherwise, if her heat-vision doesn't get us, then the burning barn collapsing on our heads will."

Nodding in agreement, Connor leapt up to Kara and, using one arm to stop her from spinning around while shielding himself from her blasts with his other, slowly maneuvered her towards the barn door. Just as he was half-way there, the barn door flew open and a blur of motion smothered the fires, tore Connor away from Kara, then tied a thick, red cloth across her eyes. Connor blinked, then behind Kara he saw Superman dressed in his usual costume minus his cape, the latter having been used as Kara's make-shift blindfold.

Still sounding panicked, Kara asked something in Kryptonian. Even though Connor didn't understand, Superman did, and he responded in a soothing tone of voice, *No one here is going to harm you, child. I know what you're going through and can help you. You must focus on my voice and find a calm space in your heart to dwell in. Breathe deeply and slowly. Once you've calmed down, your eyes will stop burning."

Kara did as he instructed, Taking one slow breath, then another. As she did, the cape's smoldering thinned, then stopped altogether. After a couple seconds passed without any signs of it starting up again, Superman untied the cape from around her eyes. Kara blinked a couple of times then when she saw him clearly she broke into a huge grin and said *Uncle Jor-El, it is you!* As she threw a big hug around him, she said, *I knew that mind-witch had to be lying, that I couldn't be all alone! What about Father, is he here? I must see little Kal as well!*

*Um…* Superman tried to recall what name he'd heard Megan call this girl on his way in, and then he remembered, *…Kara? I _am_ Kal-El.*

Kara, her face falling in confusion once again, pulled away slightly to look him in the face as she asked, *What?*

Kal-El looked solemnly into Kara's eyes as he said, *You must believe that you'll never be alone here, but I'm afraid that Megan is right. With the exception of those banished to the Phantom Zone, the two of us are the only survivors of the planet Krypton.*

Her eyes overflowing with tears, she threw herself into Kal-El's shoulder and began to cry hysterically. Kal-El then wrapped his cousin in a consoling embrace and together they floated back down to the ground, where the wailing continued.

* * *

Later, in the Kents' living room, everyone including Kara was seated comfortably. Connor, his burned arm wrapped in bandages sits next to Megan and stars applying ointment to the burn on her back while she provides translation for Kara and Clark, who changed back into his civilian attire while his mother sews him a new cape to replace his ruined one. Kara, sitting in a rocking chair and holding a steaming cup of cocoa, said *I'm sorry everyone, I didn't mean to hurt anybody.* Turning towards Megan, she added, *Especially to you. I hope you know I didn't really mean what I said about you.* When Megan raised an eyebrow, Kara amended, *Well, maybe I did at the time. I just didn't want to believe what you had told me, that I had lost everyone I cared about; My family, my friends, Kell-Ur…*

*Kell-Ur?* Megan asked while Clark translated for everyone else.

*He….He was my…* Kara stammered as she wiped her eyes, before she managed, *We were close.*

Glancing over her shoulder at Connor, Megan suddenly had an idea what Kara must be feeling; If she suddenly woke up on a strange planet and learned that Connor and everyone else she cared about on Earth was gone…

*How's your back?* Kara asked, interrupting Megan's thoughts.

*Huh? Oh, better. Thanks,* Megan replied, *Now if I could just find something to rid me of my Mad Hatter-induced headache, I'd be golden.*

"The Mad Hatter?" Clark asked, unnerved into forgetting to speak in Kryptonian for Kara's sake, "He's supposed to be still locked up in Arkham, what was he doing here in Smallville?"

"Well, he wasn't here," Megan started, then remembering Kara, she shifted back into Kryptonian as she continued, *It wasn't _our_ Mad Hatter that we encountered, nor did we encounter him in Smallville. We recently made an unexpected trip this afternoon to another Earth, where we encountered that world's Hatter who was doing a job for Luthor in Metropolis.*

"Another Earth?" Lois asked Megan, while Clark translated for Kara, "How in the world did you guys get to another Earth?"

Digging out the Mirror Box out of her jeans pocket, she held it out for everyone to see as she said, "We found this out in the field where Connor was practicing his flying, and we…"

Kara's gasp interrupted Megan as she said, *A Transposition Shard!"

*Kara,* Clark asked, *You know what this artifact is?*

Kara nodded as she said, *It's known as a Transposition shard on Krypton. It was the result of an early attempt to change the way of space travel, much like the discovery of the Phantom Zone. Instead of allowing our ancestors to travel across space, as was intended, this item allowed them to travel to alternate timelines, to allow them to see what the world might have been like today if things happened differently in the past. Also, if that shard exists in each timeline involved, then the person who uses it would be briefly swapped with their counterpart in the other timeline."

As Kara continued to explain, tears started to roll down her cheeks again. "There used to be a vast number of similar shards, one for each different world that was discovered, but now only the one that remains intact was on display at the Argo Museum.* Kara's tears were flowing faster now, but she strived to keep her voice even as she said, "Kell-Ur was going to take me there that day. He knows how much I love to visit the displays of our history, especially those of our great age of exploration. He was going to pick me up that afternoon, said he had something important he wanted to discuss."

_It sounds like he was going to propose_, Megan thought, but she listened and translated as Kara barely managed to choke out, *Before he could come, we experienced a shake worse than any of the tremblers that we'd experienced recently or in history. When they started, father took me to a deep sleep capsule that he's been developing for a new line of space ships, ones he'd been hoping would kick off a new age of exploration for Krypton. The capsule had the ability to double as an escape pod, with auto-pilot and propulsion that could take the crew member to the world they were traveling to should anything happen to the main ship.* Turning back towards Clark, she said *Anyway, father said that he was sending me to you, that I should take care of you. At first I thought that he meant he was sending me over to your father's place, but the other statement made no sense to me at all: Why would I have to take care of you? Wouldn't Uncle Jor-El and Aunt Laura do that? When I asked why we didn't just take the hover, he told me there wasn't time. That your father was right.*

They were all silent for a moment. All those in that room had heard about how Clark's birth father had predicted the death of Krypton, how their council refused to take him seriously and to take steps to save the population, how Jor-El had taken matters into his own hands and took steps to save his family but only had time to save his son before Krypton died.

They all knew the story, so they didn't ask for clarification, and it seemed Kara was too distraught to provide one anyway. After taking a few shuddering breaths, she continued. *I'm afraid that I didn't want to believe him, became a bit hysterical, so father used a Theta Wave generator on me. The next thing I knew, I woke up here.* Turning her focus to Megan again, to the shard in Megan's hands. *If that shard is here, on Earth, then that means all of this is really happening. Kell-Ur, my family, Krypton, they're all gone.* Kara placed her face in her hands and cried once again, much more softly this time. Everyone waited patiently while Kara worked through her grief, Clark placing a comforting arm across her shoulders.

Finally, when her sobs quieted, she wiped her eyes and asked Clark, *Something I don't understand, though. We must have left about the same time, and our vessels had equivalent capabilities, so we should've arrived at around the same time. So why are you so much older than me, instead of younger?* Turning towards Connor, she added, *And you said you had to open my capsule….I'm sorry, I didn't get your name.*

Once Megan finished her translation, Connor answered, "I was given the name Kon-El, but please call me Connor."

Kara raised her eyebrows at Megan's translation, but her current questions apparently took priority over the new ones this raised. *Connor,* she continued, *You said that you had to open my capsule? But it should've opened automatically upon arrival. I don't understand any of this.*

*I'm not entirely sure about the second question,* Clark said thoughtfully, *But from your story it sounds like you had struggled with your father, correct?* When Kara nodded, Clark continued, *Then it's conceivable that your launch was delayed, perhaps even enough so that your ship had been unable to clear the planet in time, and the explosion could have temporarily knocked out the autopilot and propulsion systems. As a result, your ship could've been left adrift in space all this time.*

Kara considered for a moment before replying, *If you're right, then I would've been in suspended animation all this time, and it's likely that the auto-wake settings could've been lost too, meaning that only a manual override by a member of the 'crew' or a member of my family could manually release me. But if that's so, then the autopilot would've required manual reactivation as well. But who could've done that?*

* * *

Meanwhile in deep space, a member of the crew of a large spacecraft stands from his console and announces, *Sir, I've traced the trail of the escaped specimen and found where it ended up. It's on the third planet of the Sol system. Population is culturally primitive. Technology is….mostly inferior, although I am detecting traces of technology from other non-indigenous races; most notably Kryptonian, Martian and….the Reach?*

*The Reach?!* The bulbous white alien pounded the armrest of his chair as he glared at the trembling crew member, *You better not be telling me that it landed on a Reach controlled world! The specimen will be lost to us if that's the case!*

The crew member double-checked his readings before nervously reporting, *Negative sir! There appears to be only the one functioning item of Reach technology. Likelihood of current Reach occupation; 0.0001%. We can retrieve the specimen once the repairs to the hull is complete.*

*Neither of which would be necessary if your bumbling hadn't reactivated the ship's navigation system instead of opening the sleeping compartment!* The captain angrily retorted.

*I-I promise you sir,* the crewmember nervously replied, *The specimen will be back in your care within 14 hours.*

*It better be, for your sake,* the captain said as he settled back into the chair, * I had never before once failed to save one of these doomed species, and I won't now. I will rescue the last Kryptonian!*

* * *

The next day, Kara and Superman arrived back on the farm as Lois, Connor and Megan came out to meet them.

"I sent our stories off to Perry after you left, and he seemed pleased with them, but he was wondering why we were unable to come in today." Lois said after giving Clark a peck on the cheek, "I explained to him that you had an unexpected family emergency, after which he said to not worry about it, to just come in whenever we can."

"Perry's a good guy," Clark said in agreement, "There are worse bosses to have: we could've had a cigar-chomping egomaniac who says our work is crap one day and 'You're fired' the next."

Lois chuckles at the mental image, then says, "So how'd it go with you guys?"

"I got her to the Fortress and the system gave her a crash course in English and our culture here, so I don't think there'll be much more need to provide translations for her now," Clark says with a hint of pride in his voice, "Actually, Kara seems to pick up things much faster than I ever did. I'm almost tempted to believe that she was the daugther of a brilliant scientist and that I am the son of a ship builder."

"Oh, Kal, stop it!" Kara said blushing.

"Now remember, Kara," Clark gently corrected, "You need to get in the habit of calling me 'Clark' or, if I'm dressed like this, 'Superman'. I've worked hard to establish a life here on Earth, and part of what makes my life here possible is that only a few here know that Clark Kent and Superman are one and the same. It'd be really bad if the wrong people learned the truth."

"Right, 'Clark'. Sorry," Kara apologized quickly.

Clark ruffled Kara's hair as he said, "That's okay, you'll learn."

Martha stepped out on the porch and said, "Well if English lessons are over now, then why don't you guys come inside and get changed for breakfast."

"Come on!" Megan grips Kara's arm and eagerly pulls her into the house, "I've set out some things I thought might fit you!"

As the two girls disappear inside, Clark chuckles and says, "Megan seems to be having a good time."

"After all she's been through," Connor says, looking pensive, "she deserves some happiness."

Clark, recognizing the expression on Connor's face, says, "Connor, what happened wasn't your fault."

"Wasn't it?" Connor countered, "First I abandon her, then I try to kill her, then I let some freak in a big hat kidnap her and try to deep-fry her brain! Sure the last two might be blamed on a Luthor, but the first is 100% Conner."

"Connor…" Clark starts to say as he lays a comforting hand on Connor's shoulder.

"It's okay, really," Connor says as he glances up at Clark, then back at the house, "I'm dealing, and as I said before, Megan's happiness is what matters most to me. If being with me and cheering me up makes her happy, then I won't deny her. And I have to admit that being with her makes me happy as well," then Connor finishes with a sigh, "as much as I don't deserve it."

* * *

In the Kent's guest room, Kara had changed into another outfit and was holding up another to a mirror.

"Are you sure it's okay that I can have these?" Kara asks Megan.

"Of course," Megan responds with a smile, "They're mine, and I have most of them memorized anyway."

As she says this, Megan changes her outfit to reflect the different outfits layed out for Kara.

"Wow," Kara says, mesmerized, "How did you do that?"

"My people are shape-shifters as well as psychics," Megan says as she changes into her Miss Martian persona, "and while we wouldn't be able to change the form of most items we are in contact with, we've developed materials and fabrics that have those properties, that we can alter with our thoughts."

"So, is this your true form then?" Kara asked.

Megan shifted uncomfortably, "Well, no actually. I generally don't like being in that form much. It makes others uncomfortable. Especially those I've just met."

Kara said, "Can you show me?"

"It's pretty scary," Megan said, shifting a step away.

"Please?" Kara asked again, "I promise I won't scream or laugh."

Megan sighs then says, "Ok. Just, brace yourself."

When Kara nods, Megan takes a couple more steps back, then shifts into her full White Martian form. After a couple seconds of silence, Megan asks, "Pretty grotesque, huh?"

Kara tilts her head to the side, as if considering, then smiles and says, "Nah, not at all. I don't see what you were so worried about."

"R-Really?" Megan stammered.

"Trust me," Kara says, her grin getting wider, "You've got nothing on the Gorbak Beast in the Kandorian Wildlife Preserve. Now that thing is ugly!"

This gets Megan laughing and, as she returns to her Miss Martian form, Kara begins laughing too. The jovial moment ends abruptly, however, when a thrumming vibration shakes the house. After looking out the window to see a strange alien craft descending towards the farm, they rush out the bedroom door and through the house. As they reach the front door they see Superman and Superboy already immobilized by crimson rays emanating from the ship.

When Clark and Connor see them, Clark yells, "Go! Get out of here!" just as a voice coming from the ship says pleasantly, "Ah, there's my lost lamb!" and a third beam shoots from the ship at Kara, which seems to drain the strength from her as it drags her over by Connor and Clark.

"I'm so glad that these barbarians didn't harm you after the idiots in my employ sent you spiraling off to this forsaken corner of the galaxy, before I could safely wake you from your sleep," the voice from the ship said, sounding for all the world like a concerned parent, "But in the end, I guess it was meant to be; I had come expecting to rescue one last survivor of Krypton only to find three! Truly Providence smiles upon us all! Hmm, what's this?" The voice, briefly confused, clears as it continues, "It appears that my previous assessment was inaccurate, apparently the boy isn't purely Kryptonian after all but in fact a clone." Hearing this, Kara flinches away from Connor as much as the beam would allow, which isn't much at all. "An imperfect clone at that; it appears that half his DNA is from the older male while the other half comes from some barbaric human. I guess that answers who's responsible. Still, you are of Krypton, so I guess I'll take you with…"

The voice is interrupted by a tractor exploding against the side of the ship, and while the tractor is a complete wreck, the ship shows no sign of damage.

"Let them go no_w!_" Megan yells.

"Ah, of course, the Martian," the voice calmly remarks, "You need not worry child, I have no intention of harming them. I am a Preserver of endangered species, not its eradicator. And while your species isn't on my list yet, if tensions on your home world continue to get worse, as I believe they will, you can rest assured that I'll come back here for you."

"What?" Megan said, shocked by this new revelation.

"I'd love to tell you more, but I can't hold off this world's primitive radar forever, and I must introduce these three to their new home." the Preserver's voice announced. As he spoke, a gas is released from the ship, apparently confined within the beams, and the three weakened Kryptonians quickly succumb to unconsciousness. The beams start to pull the three of them in towards open ports as the ship starts to lift off.

"Conner!" Megan yells as she starts to give chase. However, as soon as the three captives are within the craft, it picks up speed faster than Megan can hope to follow and is soon lost to sight.

"Miss Martian to Watchtower, I need you to track an alien craft that just departed from my location" Megan says into her earpiece.

* * *

Nightwing, at the communications and monitoring array of Watchtower, checks the readouts and says, "Sensors are not detecting any spacecraft in your area."

"Come on!" Miss Martian exclaims, sounding half-panicked, "It just departed from the Kent farm a minute ago with Superman, Superboy, and Kara Zor-El captive!"

"What? Who?" Nightwing barks in surprise and confusion.

"New girl from Krypton," Miss Martian says impatiently, "Just find them!"

"On it!" Nightwing searches through several filters until he comes across one showing a trail leading from the heart of Kansas to off world. "Okay, I found a faint but recent Ion trail leading from your location to Saturn's moon Titan, most likely to reunite with a larger craft in order to transfer the Kryptonians to more secure holding facilities."

"We need to issue an emergency recall of every available League and Team member to plan a rescue operation!" Miss Martian says quickly, her voice breaking at odd moments, "I can't….we cant lose them!"

"Don't worry, M'gann, we'll get them back," Nightwing said reassuringly, an edge of determination on his voice, "Whoever's responsible will learn that if they mess with one of us, they have to deal with us all."

* * *

Kara woke up groggily, her head throbbing. Blinking sleep out of her eyes, she looked around and saw certain things she recognized; an award she got on an essay she wrote on the different uses of various crystals, a picture she drew when she was younger of herself as a pilot on one of her father's starships, a smooth stone she and Kell-Ur had both etched their family crests on. Her heart pounding in excitement, she looked out the window and saw the craggy vista in the distance that had been a familiar sight to her growing up, with the chaotic jungle in the valley below! She couldn't believe it! She was home! Everything that had happened; The tremors, the talk about Krypton dying, that place with those strange but nice people, that ship that attacked them, It was all a dream! She looked down at herself, she was wearing her robes again, as if she never left!

Racing through her door and into the hall, she called out, *Mom? Dad? Are you here? I'm back! I'm…* As she entered the living area her hopes were dashed, her illusions shattered as she finished with a deflated tone, *…home.*

Sitting, yet hardly relaxing, in the room were two people who should not be there; Kal-El, who was definitely older than her even though he should be younger, and the clone who calls himself Kon-El, both of them also wearing Kryptonian robes.

"Hey, she's awake!" Connor said when he saw her enter the room. Approaching, he extended a hand in concern as he asked, "Are you okay?"

Not restrained by a ray this time, she smacked Connor's hand away as she backed up, remembering what she heard he was. He's a clone! Kara though, panicked, Unnatural! Abomination! Dangerous!

"Freaking out about the clone thing, huh?" Conner asked, a self-disparaging smile on his face, "Can't say I blame you."

Placing a hand on Connor's shoulder as he came up from behind, Kal-El said, "It's because of Black Zero, isn't it?"

As Kara nodded, Connor asked, "Who's Black Zero?"

"They were a terrorist organization on Krypton a long time ago. You see, in krypton's past our people utilized cloning in order to grow for themselves replacement parts should they ever need them, like if they get sick or injured." Kal-El explained.

"Speaking as a clone," Connor said, "I think that's sick."

"You aren't the only one who thought so," Kal-El agreed, "A number of Kryptonians also felt that way, that clones are people just as much as the ones they were cloned from, and are entitled to the same rights of health and life. Unfortunately, they had difficulty in convincing others to stop harvesting practices, and so Black Zero was born. They'd firebomb harvesting clinics, assassinate council members who supported cloning practices, and so on. When it seemed that they would be overcome by numbers, they commandeered a clone bank in order to grow themselves an army to fight back."

"Isn't that a little hypocritical, asking clones to fight and die for them?" Connor asked.

"If there's one thing I learned from my time on Earth," Kal-El replied, "it's that terrorist and hypocrite go hand-in-hand. Anyway, after a long and bloody battle, Black Zero was defeated and the clone banks were permanently abandoned. However, before the last members were apprehended and banished to the Phantom Zone, they tried one last gambit: a blast fired into Krypton's core to cause it to destabilize and explode."

"They killed everyone?" Connor asked, horrified.

"Tried to. However, it at first appeared that attempt had failed. Black Zero's final members were rounded up and exiled, the clone banks were shut down. Everyone was so horrified by the experience that even physical contact was considered taboo, the propagation of future generations now were conceived in birthing chambers. Mine was the first live birth Krypton had seen in many generations," Kal-El chucked as he said, "My father was a bit of a rebel. Unfortunately, his eccentric actions didn't endear him to the rest of the council. If it weren't for the fact that he's such a brilliant scientist, I imagine that he himself would've been banished to the Zone."

Connor, contemplating what Clark was discussing, said, "You said 'at first' it appeared that their attack failed."

Kal-El nodded as he said, "What no one knew at the time, and what my father had only discovered many years later, was that Black Zero's gambit worked, just not how they originally envisioned it. Rather than causing the core to instantly destabilize and explode, it instead created a flaw in the core that gradually got worse over time. Like a tiny crack in a dam. My father was the only one who was able to put together those past horrors with the unusual seismic activity and the mysterious sickness that was currently plaguing Krypton. Unfortunately, my father's ideas of ending the taboo of physical contact and of gaining knowledge from off Krypton had been wearing on the council's patience; impregnating my mother was the last straw for them. They were no longer willing to listen to his "doomsday theories". Because of the services he'd rendered in the past, they offered him a chance to live as a 'proper' Kryptonian, wouldn't banish him, and would even allow me to be born only if he agreed to not 'rile the public' with news of the world 'ending'."

Kara, who had been losing her guard as they talked, said, "For what it's worth, I think my father believed yours."

Kal-El nodded as he said, "I heard your father was a good man, and just as brilliant in his own field. Yours would share his ideas of starship mechanics, mine would explain the idea of using Phantom Zone generators as a way of covering vast distances quickly. I dare say that without their collaboration, neither of us would have made it off Krypton." As Kara glanced warily at Connor again, Kal-El said, "I know what you were raised to believe, but despite his origins Connor is a good person, a dear brother, and a valued friend."

As Kara took a deep sigh, she extended her hand to Connor and said, "Sorry about how I treated you earlier."

As Connor gripped it in a firm handshake, he said, "Like I said earlier, there's no need for apologies, but I accept all the same. Even without knowing about all that Black Zero stuff, I'd expect anyone to freak about my being a clone."

"So, we're not back on Krypton. Where are we?" Kara asked.

As Connor led the way out the front door, Connor announced, "Welcome to the Zoo."

As Kara followed Connor out the door, she saw what he meant: the vistas she had been admiring moments ago were nothing more than a mural on a wall, the space they were in was barely large enough to accommodate her 'home' with barely enough room on either side to stretch out on, and the wall the front of the house was facing at first appeared to be made of glass, but eventually she concluded it must actually be some sort of force field.

As she watched, their captor showed up on the other side, looking put out. "That was a rather crude assessment, young man." the Preserver grumped, " 'Zoo'….this is a facility I've dedicated to the preservation of species in danger of dying off."

As he spoke, the fields sealing the other cells became translucent, revealing the creatures of various worlds trapped within.

"Another one?" Connor said sarcastically, "You guys really need to start a club."

"I beg your pardon?" the Preserver asked irritably.

"We just faced someone like you a couple years ago," Connor explained smugly, "called himself a Collector of Worlds."

"You….that…" the Preserver fumed, "…that Coludroid is nothing like me at all! His only interest is in preserving the untainted culture of a doomed world, where as I'm trying to keep whole species alive! He knew that Krypton was doomed, but does he inform me? No! He just takes his city and flies off, leaving an entire ecosystem to be wiped out! Countless species gone, never to be seen again!"

Kara, who had placed her hands to her mouth in shock, whispered, "The city this Collector took, you know its name?"

"Hmm?" The Preserver, losing some of his irritation due to Kara's taking a different attitude than Connor, said, "If I recall its pronunciation correctly, then it would be Kandor, I believe."

"Kandor!" Kara cried, tears streaming down her face, "Father, Kell-Ur!"

"Had family there, did you?" the Preserver asked with interest, "A shame really. If the Coludroid was more willing to collaborate efforts with me, then I'm sure that I could've convinced him to let me keep your family together, perhaps even take along someone you cared for as well. Alas, I didn't hear of your planet's plight until after it blew up. Sad to say, but you might as well put Kandor out of your mind. You'd have a better chance of survival taking on all of Apokalypse single-handedly to save that mudball Earth than if you tried taking a city back from the Coludroid."

"We've faced him before," Kal-El said firmly, arms crossed and face set in determination, "We can do so again."

"You misunderstand, Kryptonian," the Preserver said patiently, "Taking a city away from him isn't as easy as preventing him from taking one…"

"Hey!" a gruff voice bellows from further down the holding block, "Don't you ignore me! You let me out of here right now, or I'm gonna rip your frickin arms off and I'll rip out your frackin spine and…"

The Preserver sighs in exasperation, then says, "Please excuse me for one moment."

As he walks down the hall to the cell where the din was coming from, Connor whispers to Clark, "Say, is that…?"

Clark nods and responds, "…the alien bounty hunter who embarrassed us last year and exposed the Krolotean posing as Secretary General Tsang."

As they watch together, the Preserver reaches the cell where the tirade is continuing, "….and then I'm gonna tan your hide and turn it into an new pair of chaps!"

The Preserver sighs, "Yes, Czarnian, what is the problem?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, let's get one thing straight first," the grizzled alien corrects him, "the name's Lobo, alright? That's 'L' as in 'lacerate', 'O' as in 'obliterate', 'B' as in 'disembowel', uh…"

The Preserver sighs exasperatedly, then asks, "Lobo, what seems to be bothering you?"

"What's bothering me? _What's bothering me?!_" Lobo bellows, "What's bothering me is that you hired me to bring you the Dhorian, which was a task that no one but the Main Man could perform. When I do bring you the guy, you knock me out with some gas and throw me into this monkey house!"

"I apologize if you feel slighted," the Preserver said, "but as you are the last Czarnian…"

"I know I am," Lobo said proudly, "I killed all the rest of them myself!"

"I am aware," the preserver said, "perhaps if you weren't so thorough, then your race wouldn't be in dire need of preserving."

"Yeah? Well when I get out of here, I'm gonna preserve your head as a hood ornament for The Hog!" Lobo bellows.

The Preserver sighs as he says, "Apparently you still need time to acclimate, so I'll just put you back to sleep for a while."

He then presses a control, which makes the room fill with gas. As he coughs and gags while sinking to the floor, Lobo yells, "I'm gonna….make you….regret…"

As Lobo falls into unconsciousness, the Preserver returns saying, "I apologize for that uncouth interruption. Some subjects don't take to their accommodations as readily as others."

"That's the problem with trying to 'preserve' members of a sentient species," Kal-El said in a reasonable tone, although the dark expression on his face indicated otherwise, "we're generally resistant to confinement, and are intelligent enough to believe we can take care of ourselves."

"And yet the actions of many of them say otherwise," the Preserver continued, as if Kal-El were merely engaging in an intellectual debate with him, "like the Czarnian, who took great pride in rendering his own race virtually extinct; or the humans, who frequently fight and kill one another for land or slips of paper, all the while poisoning their own world with their excesses; even the Martians have their self-destructive tendencies. I'm currently monitoring the situation on their home world to determine if I should go back to Earth for the female now, or if I have time to leave to save others and then return for her."

"You leave Me…" Connor started forward angrily until Clark extended his arm out to block him, shaking his head in silent warning.

"We're in no rush, you can go back to your analysis," Kal-El says simply. As the Preserver nods amiably and turns to take his leave, Clark asks, "Is there any chance we can get back the outfits we were wearing before? Connor and I especially don't feel too comfortable wearing these ones."

The Preserver thinks for a moment before announcing, "I will….consider it." And with that he turns and floats out of sight.

After stewing for a moment, Connor turns and slams his fist into the wall on the side with a grunt, then flinches back in pain. Cradling his sore hand for a moment, Connor turns back to Clark and asks, "What was that all about?"

"The longer he delays his departure, the better chance that Watchtower can effect a rescue, or that we can find a way to escape ourselves. If I had let you continue your outburst, the Preserver may have released his gas on us, and we need to be conscious if we're going get out of here."

Connor nodded in understanding. Rubbing his sore hand, he asks, "Why do I feel so weak?"

Looking around, Clarks answers, "He must be simulating Krypton's environment in this room; red solar lamps, increased gravity, and so forth. It's likely that he was aware that our abilities are solar-powered, and that the rays he used on us were based on the same principle as this room."

"So then we either need to get him to delay his departure until help arrives, without making it obvious, or we have to find a way to escape without our powers." When Clark nodded in affirmation, Connor looked over at Kara, who was standing in much the same position she was in when the Preserver left. Conner walked back over to her and asked, "You all right, Kara?"

Kara turned to Connor, tears in her eyes, and said, "It's just….I'd think that knowing my family was alive would make me feel more hopeful, but I'm just more worried about them than ever."

"Don't worry, we'll find a way out of here, then we'll get Kandor back from that tin can." Connor said, placing his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

Kara, still worried, countered, "But the Preserver said…"

Clark, smiling comfortingly, placed his hand on her other shoulder, said, "Connor is right. We've defeated the Collector with logic and reason before, so I'm sure we can convince him to return our people to us."

Kara, feeling their confidence, starts to smile before she asks, "But what if you can't?"

Connor, adopting a smile of anticipation, says, "Then we move to plan B," as he removes his had from her shoulder to punch his fist into his palm

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Watchtower, Martian Manhunter was briefing the Team on the current situation.

"It is unfortunate that this had happened when it did. With most of the League away on missions restoring peaceful relations with our allies that had become estranged due to actions we took while under the thrall of the Light, as well as Hal and the rest of the Green Lanterns being recalled to OA to defend against an attack by the Sinestro Corp, the only ones who can mount a rescue operation in time is you."

"Um, I'm all for rescuing Big Blue and the new girl, but Connor…" Robin started to protest.

"Tim!" Wonder Girl protested angrily, her recent bruises now mostly faded away.

Manhunter held his hand up for calm as he said, "Your concern is noted, but Superboy has been thoroughly examined and been given a clean bill of health. Furthermore, he has proven his true loyalties on many occasions. He is one of us, Robin, and we would not exclude him from our rescue effort even if it were possible to do so."

When it appeared Robin had no further protests, Manhunter continued, "Even though it continues to elude our sensors, a probe managed to pinpoint the ship's location on the Titan moon. Team A will consist of Miss Martian, Zatanna, and Blue Beetle. Your mission will be to infiltrate the ship, disable the security systems on board, and release the captives, if possible. Team B will include Wonder Girl, Aqualad, Static, and Bart. Your job will be to run cover for Team A once the security systems have been disabled, as well to help release Superman and the others to should Team A be unable to do so. Rocket, Wally and Artemis are remaining on Earth to ensure that no one is able to take advantage of this situation, while Nightwing and myself will remain on point to coordinate. Robin, if you'd like, you can remain here as well, help monitor the ship's systems..."

"No," Robin said, then quickly added, "I mean, if it's all right with you, I'd like to be on team A. The ship's tech may prove to be incompatible with the Scarab, and if that's the case then you'll need someone who can pick locks and hack systems the old-fashioned way. Since Barbara's still recovering, then that leaves me."

"If you're sure." Once Robin nods, Manhunter concludes, "Very well then, good luck to all of you. Dismissed."

As the team leaves for the hanger, with Wonder Girl kissing Robin on the cheek and saying, "Thank you, Tim," Megan lingers behind for a moment. J'onn, picking up on his niece's emotions, asks, "Is there something wrong, M'gann?"

"Before he left with Connor and the others, the Preserver said that he might be back soon to collect me as well, and when Connor and I had traveled to another Earth, we found out everyone on Mars except for you had died in a civil war amongst our people long ago," With a troubled expression, Megan asks, "Uncle John, is something going on back home that I don't know about?"

With a sigh, J'onn said, "Tensions between the White and Green Martians are getting worse back home. The White Martians are taking cues from old Earth broadcasts of Martin Luthor King and are now seeking to be treated as equals, while many of the Green Martians feel that the Whites are 'forgetting their place'. While Your mother and siblings have refused to support the Greens' side, I'm afraid that has only made them a target for those tensions."

"Shouldn't we go, then?" Megan said anxiously, "If things are getting that bad at home…"

"I understand how you feel," J'onn said sympathetically, "but our world won't destroy itself in a day, while the time we have to rescue the others is more limited. If you feel you need to head home now, however, I will understand and won't stop you."

Megan bit her lip. Never before had she felt her heart so painfully divided between Connor and her family. While she didn't think she could stand if anything happened to her family, if she never saw Connor again because she had went home before she needed to…

"Megan?" Wonder Girl poked her head around the door and asked, "Are you coming?"

Breathing a deep sigh that cemented her decision, Megan said, "Yeah, I'm coming."

* * *

In the UN Secretary General's office, Lex Luthor is looking out of the large window. "It doesn't have quite the view as my office at LexCorp," Lex announces to the large shadowy figure standing behind him, "but it has its own gravitas that makes it stunning in its own right." Turning from the view, he asks, "I've noticed that it's been rather quiet locally on the hero front, do you suppose that they've decided to accept my offer?"

The figure responded with a deep, powerful voice, "If you're asking my honest opinion, then I think not. Neither Superman nor any of his allies had accepted your offers of 'cooperation' in the past, so I think it unlikely to change simply because you became the head of the UN. It's far more likely that they're busy elsewhere, perhaps trying to repair what damage was done when we were pulling their strings a few years ago. I've also gotten word that Sinestro and his Corp has engaged the Lanterns in orbit over OA."

"That's unfortunate, but not unexpected," Luthor stated, "They would have made for powerful allies. Still, we are in no rush. We can afford to wait until the next 'incident' before proceeding towards the next stage of the plan. It'll have greater impact that way, and would have a greater chance of success. If we haven't heard a response before then, then we'll just have to proceed without them."

Vandal Savage steps into the light then as he states, "Yes, I agree Luthor. In the end, the heroes will have only two options; they can stand with us in the Light, or they and the world they're trying to protect will get burned by it."

* * *

Meanwhile, on Titan's surface, Team A is gathered around the hatch of the alien craft wearing rebreathers while Robin is hacking into the access panel. Within moments, the hatch opens and the four of then enter the airlock. As the outer door closes behind them and the atmosphere restored, Zatanna removes her rebreather and, touching the necklaces everyone's wearing, speaks a command word which causes them to glow.

"Okay, the glamour charms are active now," Zatanna announces, "We should be invisible and inaudible to everyone and everything on this ship. Considering our experience with the Collector of Worlds a couple of years ago, however, there is a possibility this guy may have a technological means of countering it as well, so it's best if we get in and out as quickly as possible."

After everyone nods in agreement, Megan phases her head through the inner door then, after a moment, returns and announces, "All clear." After Robin keys open the inner hatch and the group exits the airlock, Zatanna asks, "So which way do we go?"

After a moment, a bulbous white alien is spotted floating across one end of the hallway, carrying a bundle of clothes, with the top-most set being in familiar shades of red and blue.

Blue Beetle, jerking his thumb in that direction, said, "I suggest we follow Ugly, hermanos."

* * *

Back in the cell block, The Preserver has reached the cell of Connor and the others, completely unaware that he was followed by four of their friends. After a brief command of, "Stand back, please," he touches a command on the wall beside the cell, which causes the bottom part of the field to become fuzzy and less glass-like. He then places the tray of clothes on the floor and slides it through the field. Then he touches the control again and the field becomes completely solid once more.

"There you are, as requested. After determining that there was nothing that could be used as a weapon or to contact others, I've returned your original clothing to you, although why you would want these rather than the authentic Kryptonian apparel I've provided I do not understand," the Preserver announced.

"As I've previously mentioned," Clark stated matter-of-factly, "I haven't lived on Krypton since I was far too young to remember, and Connor has never lived there at all. We simply weren't comfortable in those outfits."

"As you wish," the Preserver conceded, "Well hopefully this small gesture has shown you that I can be a rather gracious host, and will invite you to cooperate further in the future. For now, I must prepare for our departure, seeing as how Martian relations aren't decelerating fast enough to require an immediate extraction of a specimen. We will leave soon as preparations are complete, so take the time to make yourselves comfortable & I'll have your meals brought down after we're on our way." With that statement, he leaves the room.

"You hear that, Amigos? We don't have much time here," Blue Beetle stated, "You guys get started on the cell door, while I work on the security sensors."

"Got it," Robin confirmed, and with that they split into groups; Blue Beetle went off with Zatanna towards a section of the wall between the closest cell and the doorway they just came through, while Megan went with Robin as he began to hack into the cell's panel.

As Robin worked on decoding the command that would initiate a full field shutdown of the cell's door, Megan sent a telepathic message to team B, _Time will be tight, so be ready to move on our signal._

As she sent the message, Connor, who had been searching through the clothes bundle to retrieve his own outfit, suddenly looked up and said, "Megan? Is that you?"

Megan gasped, caught off guard by Connor's question, turned to Robin and asked, "Can he see us?"

Robin, who didn't take his eyes of his work, said simply, "Impossible. Nobody who's not wearing one of the pendants should be able to see or hear us so long as the charm's active."

"Connor?" Megan tried again, then when he didn't react except to continue to look around in confusion, she said telepathically, _Connor, can you hear me? It's Megan!_

_Megan! I can hear you!_ Connor thought to her, _Where are you?_

_I'm right in front of you,_ Megan told him, placing one hand out in front of her close to, though not touching, the force field separating them. _Robin's here as well, working on the cell controls; Jamie and Zatanna are over by the entrance working on disabling the security sensors._

_I can't see them,_ Connor thought to her, looking around, _how are you doing this?_

_We're all wearing Zatanna's glamour charms,_ Megan explained, _they render us unable to be seen or heard by anything except each other. We also have Cassie, Virgil, Bart and Kaldur waiting on standby in the Bio-Ship to cover our escape once security's down._

When Clark saw that Connor had been sitting in the same position for a while, he asked, "Is something wrong, Connor?"

"No, something's right!" Connor said, "Megan and the Team are here, and they're getting us out of here!"

"Really?" Kara asked.

"Yes," Connor said, gesturing towards the various areas as he spoke, "Megan's team is under Zatanna's glamour so they can't be seen or heard except by each other. Meg and Tim are working on the cell's control, while Jamie and Zatanna are working on shutting down the sensors so the others can cover our escape."

"You have some very brave friends," Kara said impressed, "I can't wait to meet them."

_So what's been going on?_ Megan asked, _I would've expected this place to look like a tornado hit it after your escape attempt._

_Unfortunately the red solar lamp keeps us powerless,_ Connor explained, _and until we can absorb some yellow sunlight, I'm afraid we won't be much use in helping us get out of here._

Megan looked around for a second, then announced to Connor, _I just saw a cell with some Owl-Faced Monkeys a couple cells down from yours._

_Great,_ Connor grumbled, _so this guy has some monkeys in his Zoo._

_Connor,_ Megan bit her lip to keep from laughing, thinking of his aversion to monkeys,_ they're an endangered species from **Earth!**_

_You think that this guy simulated their environment, the way he did ours?_ Connor thought, catching on.

_It couldn't hurt,_ Megan said.

"And….done!" Robin announced as the field disappeared. Wasting no time, Megan rushed forward and hugged Connor fiercely.

Connor, caught off guard by the invisible embrace, returned the hug awkwardly. Then, remembering he was still dressed in the Kryptonian robes, he gently disengaged from her embrace as he said, _I….um….I gotta go get dressed. In the meantime, why don't you have Robin get the monkey-house open for us in the meantime._

Megan, blushing, turned and relayed Connor's instructions to Robin while he and Clark ducked behind the domicile to change while Kara entered the place to do the same.

* * *

Minutes later, Clark and Connor were once again dressed in their Superman and Superboy outfits. As they walked back around to the front of the domicile, her outfit something of a mishmash: the top was still that of her white Kryptonian robes with the black S-shield symbol, although the part of it from her waist down was torn off and discarded. In its place she wore blue bike shorts, a red mini-skirt and red, high-heeled boots.

As she saw Connor looking at her, she asked with concern, "Too much?"

Clark saved Connor having to answer by saying, "Not too bad, considering what you had to work with. We will help you come up with something more consistent when we return."

Kara smiled at them as Robin came back around and announced, "Okay, I've got the monkey cage open."

When Megan relayed Tim's announcement to Connor, he gestured to the others to follow. Almost as soon as he stepped out of the Kryptonian enclosure Connor started to feel stronger, lighter. Walking towards the cell the monkeys were held in, which they were now streaming out of and chattering loudly, having sensed freedom, Connor could feel the artificial yellow sun's rays energizing him with every step he walked towards it. When he was within a couple steps of the other cage, Zatanna took off her charm and ran towards them announcing, "Okay, the sensors are down now. Grab what sun you need and let's get out of here."

_That wasn't much time,_ Connor thought to himself. _Oh well, at least I feel strong enough now to fly all the way back home under my own power. Hopefully that'll be enough._

As Megan, Tim and Jamie remove their glamour charms, Megan said, "I've let the others know, they're entering the airlock now."

As she spoke, the monkey's chattering woke Lobo from his drugged sleep. As he blinked sleep out of his eyes, Lobo saw everyone and exclaimed, "Woohoo, look out! Hot Babe Alert! If I'm still sleeping, don't let me wake up!"

Zatanna grunted in disgust as waved her hand and chanted "_Gag mih_!"

Lobo, who tried to keep speaking, found that even though his mouth was still moving no sound was coming out. Superman, who was trying to not laugh at Lobo's expression, said, "Zatanna, release him."

With a sigh, Zatanna chanted "Kaeps!"

As Lobo's voice returned, he is heard saying, "…your blosking magic and…"

Superman interrupted him, saying, "We don't have time to listen to your whole tirade, how would you like to get out of there?"

Everyone stared at him in disbelief as Superboy asked, "Have you lost it?"

Superman held up his hand to Connor as Lobo said, "Are you frackin' kidding me? I've been dreaming of putting that giant pimple in a hurt locker for a week now! What's the catch?"

"There's a couple actually. First, when you get out, there's to be absolutely no fragging here. You can put the Preserver and as many of his crew in a 'hurt locker' as you want, but no killing." Superman explained.

"Not even a little?" Lobo complained.

"No," Superman said firmly, "Now the second isn't so much as a condition so much as a price."

"Price?" Lobo said, not expecting to hear that out of him. Nor was anyone else. "How much are we talking about here?"

"I don't want money, I want information," Superman clarified, "One year ago, you attacked the UN and exposed the Krolotean who was posing as Secretary General Tsang. Now we already know who hired you to do that, and we know who they were pretending to work for but intending all along to betray in the end. What I want to know is who your employers are really working with."

"Oh, no. Sorry boy scout," Lobo said, "I might've been willing to agree to the first one, but the second one is out of the question. The Main Man's word is his bond. If I start giving out information like that about my former employers, then that would go against my code and my word's worthless. Besides, there are some paths even ol' Lobo won't cross."

Zatanna smirked as she said, "Sounds like big, bad Lobo's scared of this guy."

"Hold on there, babe!" Lobo bellowed, "Lobo ain't afraid of no man!"

"Okay then," Superman said, turning to leave, "enjoy your stay."

As Superman started to walk away, Superboy watched Lobo's changing expressions on his face for a second before saying, "Wait." When Superman turned back towards him with a curious expression on his face, Superboy braced himself.

_Time to play the 'good cop',_ he thought as he asked Lobo, "What if we were to guess? If we were to guess correctly and you merely confirmed it, then your reputation would be intact, would it not?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Lobo confirmed, "but I can't let you guess infinitely, nor would I be able to give you hints, kid."

"That's okay," Superboy confirmed, "I'll only need three, and you've given me plenty of hints already."

"Okay, you're on!" Lobo agreed, "You take your three guesses, I confirm or deny, you let me out."

"Sure, but only if you're honest in those confirmations. If you aren't, Miss Martian will know," Superboy countered, "And you'll still be under the 'No Fragging' restriction while here."

"Deal!" Lobo agreed

"Okay, first question, you were hired by the Light and know who they are working for, correct?" Superboy asked.

"Hey!" Lobo protested, "That's two questions!"

"No, it's not," Superboy insisted, "It's only one question with two parts, and only needs one 'yes' if completely correct or one 'no' if any part is wrong."

"Well," Lobo conceded, "in that case, yes?"

"Then the second question:" Superboy continued, "You said before that you 'ain't afraid of no man.' I'm guessing that the Light's partner is no 'man', but rather a 'god'; like say one of the New Gods of New Genesis or, more likely, Apokalypse?"

"Hey, that's two for two!" Lobo complimented him, "You sure you ain't cheating?"

"Superboy?" Superman asked, stunned and confused, "How are you…"

Superboy silenced him by holding his index finger in the air as he asked Lobo, "Okay, final question: The Light's partner, is it Darkseid of Apokalypse?"

Lobo clapped his hands vigorously as he said, "Very good kid, you got them all! So let ask you something then: If you knew all this already, then why ask ol' Lobo?"

"I didn't know, exactly," Superboy corrected, "Let's just say I recently met someone on a trip whose story followed a similar plot to the one were currently experiencing, and I just needed to see how similar they are."

Lobo considered for a moment before announcing, "Okay, I buy it. So, if we're done with the Q & A, can I get out of here now?"

Nodding at Superman, Superboy winds up for a punch, then holds as he says, "Remember: No fragging."

"Hey, the Main Man's word is his bond!" Lobo protested, then asked under his breath, "Plenty of Hurt Locker though, right?"

Superboy nodded as he confirmed, "As much as you want on the Preserver and his goons."

As Lobo answered him with a huge grin, Superboy glanced one more time at superman, then they simultaneously punched through the outer wall of the cell on opposite sides of the force field and pulled out some wires, which caused the force-field to short out then disappear. Lobo then stood, cracked his knuckles, then bellowed, "Alright you floating, bloated, giant sack of pus! I may not be allowed to frag you, but by the time ol' Lobo is through with you, you'll wish I was!" Then swinging his chain and roaring, he charged out of the cellblock.

As they watched him go, Superboy said, "We'd better go too." Then the others nodded and quickly left the room as well.

* * *

As team B exited the airlock, a squad of guards came around the corner. As soon as they saw each other, the guards yelled, "Intruders!" As they raised their weapons, Bart gleefully yelled, "Mine!" as he dashed amongst them at super-speed, stealing their guns, then returning to the point where he started from before they could even blink.

As Static charged up to blast the unarmed guards before they could raise an alarm, they heard a furious bellow coming up from behind them. Spinning quickly, they saw Lobo closing fast. Just as they braced themselves for impact, Lobo leaps clear over them saying, "Hey kids!" then continued his headlong charge, scattering the guards like ten-pins as he continued around the corner.

"What….was that?" a very stunned Static asks.

Groaning, Wonder Girl says, "Don't ask. Just, don't ask."

Gesturing to where Lobo came from, Bart asks, "So, think we should try this way?"

* * *

In the command room, where the Preserver is looking at a display which shows there only minutes left till the engines are warmed up enough to achieve liftoff, a guard bursts into the room.

*Sir! We have a problem!* he yells breathlessly, *A number of intruders had broken into the ship and released some of the specimens, which are now running amok!*

*What?!* the Preserver bellowed, *Why wasn't I notified of this sooner?*

*It appears that the first group of intruders evaded detection by security somehow, then they disabled the sensors so that the others could board,* the guard stated nervously

As he spoke, Lobo appeared on one of the monitors holding a guard in one of his hands, saying, *I'm coming for you, you big headed freak!* just he smashed the guard into the camera and the feed went dead.

The Preserver growled, *Argh, out of my way!* as he shoved the guard to one side, muttering as he left the room, *It seems that if you want something done right, you've gotta do it yourself!*

* * *

"Why are you still carrying those?" Static asked, gesturing towards the four guns still in Bart's arms.

"Huh? Oh! I thought they might come in handy." Bart replied.

Considering for a second, Static used his powers to levitate them out of Bart's arms and, with two each hovering on each side of him, cocked the bolt on each one magnetically. "You know," Static remarked, "you just may be right."

As they continued through another door, they found themselves in a hanger, where team A and the Kryptonians entered from a door on the opposite side.

"You guys made it!" Robin said.

"Thanks to the wrecking ball you sent our way." Wonder Girl replied.

Superman pointed to the hanger's airlock force-field and said, "If we can hack this open, we should all be able to exit this way."

Just as Robin is about to access the controls, the door opposite the airlock bursts open and an angry Preserver enters, yelling, "You kids have ruined everything!"

As everyone braces themselves for a confrontation, the Preserver continues, "Why must you meddle in affairs that don't pertain to you? I'm not one of your 'bad guys". I'm not trying to blow up planets or take over the world, I'm simply trying to save endangered species throughout the cosmos. Is that really wrong?"

Aqualad, realizing there may be a diplomatic solution available here, states, "Perhaps not in the abstract, but we cannot simply let you take some of our friends and comrades, nor can we look the other way while you 'save' sentient species against their will. If you can abide by that, and allow us to take our friends home, then we'll leave you in peace."

The Preserver appears to consider this, but in a classic case of bad timing Lobo enters the hangar from the same door the Preserver used, yelling, "There you are, you flying whitehead! I'm gonna beat you within an inch of your life, and once you've recovered I'm gonna beat you again!"

Leaping through the air, Lobo delivered a powerful haymaker on the Preserver. However, the force of the blow was absorbed by an invisible force-field surrounding the Preserver's body. Growing angry again, The Preserver said, "It's become apparent, Czarnian, that you are just too stupid to be saved!"

The Preserver then undergoes a metamorphosis: Growing legs from his 'torso', which changed size and shredded his outfit; his arms grew more powerful to match his legs; his hands and feet sprouted sharp claws; and his skin tone changed from a mellow white to an angry red. As Lobo leapt in for another attack, the Preserver caught him easily in one hand and slammed him into the floor, saying, "After I've disposed of you, I will lock the others back up again and resume my mission!"

Aqualad, recognizing that diplomacy was no longer an option, said, "Take him down."

First off was Blue Beetle, who began with a double sonic blast, accompanied by Static emptying the clips of all four rifles. Although the attack seemed to have some effect on him, the Preserver picked up the stunned Lobo and threw him at Blue Beetle, knocking him out of the fight for the moment. Next up was Superman, Superboy, and Kara, who flew circles around the Preserver while unleashing a bevy of punches on him, but the Preserver batted them all away with one swipe of his hand. Then Wonder Girl and Miss Martian were on the attack, with Wonder Girl having lassoed the arm which he used to knock away the Kryptonians and Miss Martian using Psi blasts on the leg bearing most of the weight. But the Preserver just grabbed the lasso with both hands and swung Cassie while simultaneously clocking Megan in the same motion, the differing momentums causing them to collide with adjoining walls. The Preserver then ripped a defense turret from the top of one of the ships in the hanger and, holding it like a rifle, took aim at Wonder Girl.

Superboy, who was regaining his senses, saw this and yelled, "No!" as he took flight. As the preserver fired, Superboy arrived in time to take the blast full in the chest, the momentum driving him into Wonder Girl, knocking her cold.

"Connor!" Miss Martian yelled as she flew quickly but unsteadily to Superboy's side.

Superboy, who had a fierce burn on his chest where his shield used to be, looked up and croaked out, "I'll be fine. Stop him."

As the Preserver took aim at Zatanna, Miss Martian used a powerful Psi blast to shatter his weapon. Robin, furious that the Preserver apparently tried to use lethal force against Wonder Girl, swung on his outstretched arm and planted numerous bombs across his chest, then vaulted off his head just as they all exploded at once. As the combined force of the bombs had the Preserver reeling back, Zatanna chanted "_Roolf ot eci!_" Then, when the Preserver lost his footing and started to fall backwards, she chanted, "_Tlem!_" As he fell into what was now a giant puddle on the floor and became partially submerged, Zatanna then chanted, "_Ezeerf_!" and the puddle turned back into ice, trapping him. Then Bart, taking care to not slip on the ice, unleashed a barrage of super-speed punches all over every exposed area of the Preserver who, roaring in rage, broke free of his icy prison, causing Ice chunks to stun or knock out Bart, Robin, Zatanna, and Miss Martian. Aqualad then used his Water Bearers to gather the ice chunks, change them back into water, and encase the Preserver up to his head in a water bubble.

"Can you disconnect from the bubble but have it hold its shape?" Static asked.

Releasing the bubble from his Water Bearers, Aqualad said, "Done."

Static then unleashed a powerful electromagnetic at the Preserver, which is amplified by the water bubble surrounding him. Screaming in pain, the Preserver grinds out, "You kids….don't have….what it takes….to stop me!" With a gargantuan effort, the Preserver manages to break free of his electrified bubble, the resulting wave knocking down both heroes. The Preserver then picks up the damaged scout ship and turns to face them, intending to crush them with it. Before he can, a red streak punches through the ship's airlock force-field, collides with the Preserver in the small of his back and latches on, causing him to drop the ship behind him. As the recovering heroes watch in awe, Captain Marvel, still holding on for dear life, proclaims, "Never underestimate the power of youth!"

As the Preserver twists back and forth to try and grab the clingy Captain Marvel, the furious alien yells, "Get off, you gnat! Get off!"

With a big smile on his face, Captain Marvel says, "For your horrible show of disrespect, I have only one thing to say to you: _SHAZAM!_"

As he speaks, a bolt of magical lightning punches through the ship's hull, through multiple floors and passes through the body of the Preserver as it strikes its target of Captain Marvel. As the alien finally falls into unconsciousness, Billy Bastion lets go and rolls away before he can get crushed, then says, "Am I too late to join the party?"

* * *

As Megan and Bart patched Conner up and helped him back to his feet, Blue Beetle and Zatanna worked together from opposite ends to patch the hole in the hull and preserve the precious atmosphere, and Wonder Girl and Static have some choice words with Billy about his choice in tactics, Robin comes up to Connor and says, "You put yourself in harm's way to save Cassie. Why?"

Connor answers simply, "She's a friend and a teammate, why wouldn't I?"

Robin, looking ashamed, said, "I'm sorry. I've been so freaked out by what you can do, by what you almost di….I mean, what you were almost made to do. I've judged you unfairly, and my mistrust jeopardized this Team. I hope you can accept my apology, and my resignation from the Team. It's clear I no longer belong."

Cassie, in shock over what she overheard, stopped scolding Billy as she turned as asked, "What?!"

As Robin turned to walk away, Superboy placed a hand on Robin's shoulder and said with a serious mien, "As a senior member of the team, and as the party most strongly affected by your actions, I do not accept your resignation."

Robin turned his head towards Superboy, confusion most apparent on his face, as he said, "Huh? But…"

Superboy, holding his position, smiles as he continues, "…but I do accept your apology."

Cassie, approaching them, said "Really?"

Robin, still confused, said "I don't understand. I've said such horrible things about you, I threatened to kill you, I wanted to leave you here."

"But you didn't," Superboy stated, "You saved me from becoming a permanent resident in a protected habitat. You've proven yourself many times to be a brilliant tactician and a team player."

"But…" Robin tried again.

Superboy interrupted him, "I know why you felt how you did, and were our roles reversed I would've felt the same way. Don't worry about it."

As Robin opened his mouth to protest again, Megan said, "Forget it, Tim. I know first-hand how stubborn Connor can be once he's set his mind on something. Just accept his apology and move on."

After a deep sigh, Robin smiled tentatively and said, "Okay."

As Cassie put an arm around Tim's shoulders and smiled hugely, Billy walked up and said sheepishly, "I'm sorry too, you guys. I guess I didn't think that last attack through."

"Although your choice of location was unwise," Aqualad said, "Your actions and timely intervention saved us further injury and possible death at the hands of a formidable opponent. Just be better aware of your surroundings in the future."

As Blue Beetle re-entered through the Hangar's airlock force-field, he asked, "Say, hermano, how _did_ you know we'd be here? I thought you and the other Leaguers were still on Rann, repairing buildings and patching relations."

Billy rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "Well, I reminded the others that it was a school night, so they let me come back early. When I got back to Watchtower, Manhunter let me know what was going on here, so I had him Zeta me in."

Zatanna, who had re-entered the hanger from the side doors, gestured at the unconscious Preserver, who'd reverted to his original form, and asked, "What do we do with Sleeping Ugly?"

Connor considered for a second, then walked over to Lobo, who was beginning to regain consciousness. He then reached down and grabbed the chain and asked, "Mind if I borrow this for a sec?" then walked away with it without waiting for an answer and ignoring Lobo's mumbled protest. Connor then wrapped the chain snugly a few times around the Preserver's unconscious form, threaded the hook through one of the links, then dragged the alien by the chain and handed the end of it back to Lobo. "We're still holding you to your word of 'no fragging", but I imagine someone out there has a price on this guy's head. Might make your time here worth while."

Lobo then got a huge grin on his face as he got back to his feet, then he ruffled Connor's hair as he said, "You know what kid? You ain't half bad! You ever get tired of being stuck in this ass end of the galaxy, just give ol' Lobo a call. I could use a partner like you." He then hands Connor a business card, then drags the Preserver over to The Hog, climbs on and hollers, "Smell you later!" as he roars off through the airlock.

Connor looks at the card for a second, then holds it up and out from him as he says, "Clark, would you do the honors?"

Superman, knowing what Connor is asking, smiles as he uses his heat vision to turn the card to ash.

"So what do you say we bring the Bio-Ship in here now, Meg?" Connor asked her, smiling, "I think it's time we all headed back home."

* * *

The next day, at Watchtower, the full roster of League and Team members is assembled in the conference room. Batman, leading the proceedings says, "Once again, you have proven yourself as a team and as heroes. Not only had you rescued one of our most powerful and valuable League members from a powerful adversary, but you also managed to gather valuable information concerning the Light's true partner. Now before we proceed to the next order of business, a couple of us have some important announcements."

Stepping aside for a moment, Superman takes his place as he starts to speak. "Everyone, If you accept, I would like to introduce to you the newest member of the Team: Supergirl!"

Kara steps forward in her new outfit: A blue, long-sleeved top with a bare midriff and the S-shield emblazoned on the chest in red and yellow; a red cape with the same shield printed in yellow on the back; a red miniskirt with a gold belt around the waist; and red boots with gold trim at the top.

"Are you sure about this, Superman?" Kara asks nervously.

"Absolutely," Superman assured her, "You've proven your bravery and determination on the Preserver's ship, and I think that working with the Team can not only help you develop control over your powers, but also valuable team-skills."

"Well then," Kara said, smiling, "I'll do my best."

As Superman steps aside and Kara walks over to the Team, Barry Allen steps to the front in his civilian attire. "As many of you may know," Barry begins with a serious mien, "my wife Iris is now 3 months to term which, due to the fact that she's carrying twins, means that she could be giving birth any day now. Due to that fact, I would like to be there to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Therefore, effective immediately, I'm taking a leave of absence both as the Flash and as a member of the Justice League."

This announcement causes quite a stir amongst many of the people here, particularly Bart and Wally. The only ones who don't visibly react are Batman, whose expressions remain as enigmatic as ever, and Superman, who pretty much saw this coming.

"Despite that this is only a temporary leave," Barry continues, "I do not wish to leave a vacuum in the League's roster, so I would like to nominate Wally West to fill in for me as the new Flash."

Wally stares at him, slack-jawed, as a beaming Artemis nudges him forward.

When Wally gets close enough, Barry holds out his costume ring.

"Really, uncle Barry?" Wally asks.

"Absolutely!" Barry confirms, "I'd say you earned this many times over. This ring is yours to keep; I'll have a new one made by the time I'm ready to get back in the game."

"Thank you," Wally says, overwhelmed, "I'll make you proud."

As everyone pats wally on the back, Batman retakes his position and says, "Now, back to the next order of business, after the Lanterns had repelled the attack by Sinestro's forces, we had contacted OA and the Guardians had agreed to find suitable homes for the specimens the Preserver had collected. In addition, we are currently trying to locate the Collector of World's whereabouts so as to best plan where, when and how we'll retrieve the city of Kandor from him. At the moment, our biggest and most pressing concern is the Light and the next step of their plan. While we do know now the identity of the Light's partner, Darkseid of Apokalypse, and his earthly agent, G. Gordon Godfrey, we have no way of proving it yet, nor do we yet know what their endgame is or what the next step will be, only that Luthor recently invited the League to sign an agreement to act only "within the interests of the UN and their allies", which we interpret as not acting against the Light. We have not yet given him an answer, but it's only a matter of time before Luthor and his allies deduce that we have no intention of cooperating. We need to use this time to find out what they're planning and stop them before they can prevent us from doing so. Dismissed."

* * *

Meanwhile, in deep space, a spacecraft few had ever laid eyes on and even fewer had lived long enough to describe it to others drifts through the emptiness of the cosmos. At the helm, the sentient mechanical being currently known as the Collector of Worlds muses over reading shown on it's displays.

"Hmm," the Collector says aloud, "it seems I may have made an error in my prior analysis and likely should have tried harder to restore my attempt to collect Metropolis. According to my newest calculations, the presence of the Kryptonian and his allies have not affected the outcome my initial calculations had predicted. Earth will still be destroyed in four months."

End of chapter.


	4. 4) Fury

**Fury**

It was a rainy, miserable night in the streets of Star City. Virtually everyone who's outside tonight is either rushing to or from their vehicles. The young woman fumbling in her purse for her car keys is no exception. As she reaches her car, a man approaches her and says, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I dropped my phone in a puddle and need to call a cab. Would you perhaps have change for a payphone?"

"Sure," the woman replies as she pulls her change purse out. As she starts to dig out some change, the man pulls out a gun from his coat and growls, "Now, how about the rest?"

As the woman's eyes widen in fear, the man looks around furtively then gestures with the gun towards a nearby alley. As they enter the alley, unseen by the few people who are simply trying to get out of the rain, the man snatches the purse from her while gesturing for her to stay still. As he tosses various items from her purse, having deemed them worthless, the woman fearfully begs, "Please, I don't have anything on me!" Ignoring her pleas, he finally digs out her purse wallet and opens it. Pulling out what few bills were in it, he clenches them in his fist as he screams in anger and confusion, "Twenty-three bucks? Are you kidding me here?!"

The woman shakes her head in terror as she says, "Nobody carries hardly any cash on them anymore!"

Tossing her purse on the ground, the thug aims the gun at her again as he says, "How about jewelry?"

The woman fumbles with her wrist as she says, "I only have this wrist watch!"

As he looks at the watch for a second, a cheap model with a chrome analog dial and a leather wrist strap, he tosses it to the ground and screams, "Worthless!"

When he points the gun back in her face, his grip tightening on the handle in his fury, the woman begs tearfully, "Please, I told you I have nothing on me! Please don't hurt me!"

From the alley's darkness, a voice commands, "You heard the lady!"

As the thug spins to aim his gun at the sound of the voice, Arsenal steps into the light and aims his arm cannon at the thug, saying, "I think mine is bigger."

As the woman tries to sneak away, the mugger grabs her, spins her into a headlock, and aims his gun at her head as he says, "That's far enough, hero!"

Arsenal looks at the man disdainfully as he says, "You realize I could tag you from twenty times this distance, and with less visible area to hit."

"Perhaps," the thug says, starting to back away, "But could you do so, and prevent me from pulling this trigger when you do?"

Arsenal cocks his head for a second, then adjusts his aim and fires.

Blood speckles the woman's face. When she realizes she is not hurt, she looks over at the thug's gun and her eyes widen as she sees it's no longer there.

Neither is the thug's hand.

As she opens her mouth wide, the blood curdling scream that splits the night is not hers but rather the man's. As he releases her to clutch his arm, the stump cauterized by the blast, the man screams, "You….you took my hand!"

Arsenal growls, "You'll live. That's the least of your problems."

As Arsenal converts the arm cannon to a mechanical hand and proceeds to beat the thug senseless, the woman backs up against and slides down the alley's opposite wall, her legs giving out from under her, her eyes wide in terror and her mouth still open in a scream that still won't come.

* * *

Up at Watchtower, Batman is addressing the Team and League members currently assembled.

"Arsenal's actions have gotten totally out of hand. Oliver, I know that you were hoping that giving your former protégée some space would help him to get over his anger at what happened to him, but he is simply growing more violent, his methods more vicious. Now it's starting to reflect badly on us all. This was broadcast just moments ago:"

Batman gestures at one of the monitors, which is displaying a recorded broadcast of G. Gordon Godfrey's show.

"How much longer are we going to put up with the super-powered anarchists that dare to call themselves heroes?!" Godfrey rages, "It's bad enough that they secretly had their eye in the sky for who knows how long before the Reach exposed it to the public, bad enough that nobody knows who they are or what they're doing when they're not flaunting themselves to the public. Now they are showing their true colors, displaying a total disregard for the lives of those they're apprehending or even those they're supposed to protect!"

Godfrey then gestures to a monitor showing the mugger in a hospital bed, heavily bandaged and hooked up to life support equipment. "Earlier this evening, one of those 'heroes' used excessive force to apprehend a simple mugger! Even worse, that hero endangered the life of a young woman the man had taken as hostage! Fortunately, our recently elected Secretary General has proposed a solution to restore order to this chaos."

"Here we go…" Superboy began, crossing his arms as Miss Martian finished, "…the Vigilante Registration Act."

Everyone present raises their eyebrows questioningly but says nothing yet as the broadcast changes its focus to a press conference in front of the UN building, where Lex Luthor takes the podium.

"Thank you all for coming. Earlier this week, I had proposed to the Justice League an agreement in which they would work closely with the UN to protect the interests of all affiliated countries, as well as to ensure that none of their associates work against it. Unfortunately, I have yet to get any response from them concerning whether not they've accepted it. The events earlier this evening, unfortunately, indicate that it may be necessary to take measures ensure the safety of our citizens. On that note, I'd like to propose to all world leaders, including the President of the United States, the adoption of the Vigilante Registration Act. Under this law, which I believe could be incorporated into any country's legal structure, would require any hero who would work to protect their country and allies to register their identities with their government's officials to ensure that they work solely towards those ends. Even though those identities would not be released to the public, they would be made known to their country's law enforcement personnel, both for contact purposes as well for in the event that the hero's loyalties should be….compromised. While I'm aware that they have done an admirable job working freelance up until now, it's time that they worked with the law, rather than against it."

Back in the GBS news room, Godfrey said, "Truer words were never spoken."

At that point, Batman pauses the recording and states, "As you can see, not only has Arsenal's actions put all of us in a bad light, but also seriously endangered those of us whose lives and loved ones are dependent on maintaining a secret identity."

"Say," Wally, currently wearing the Flash costume, asked, "how did you know what Luthor was going to talk about? Had you already seen this broadcast?"

"Unlikely," Batman stated, "this was broadcast just 18 minutes ago, three minutes after I initiated the recall."

"Then how did you guys know?" Wonder Girl asked.

"It was more of an educated guess," Connor said, "On our trip to the alternate world, Megan and I heard that their Godfrey's actions led to the establishment of that act. We weren't certain that this would be the next step, or even that it would be a step he would take, until we heard what Godfrey said during his broadcast just now. With the differences between that world and ours…"

"Understood," Batman stated, "Perhaps later you can debrief us on everything you've learned from your sojourn, and we would be able to determine which information may apply to our situation at that time. But for now, we need to discuss the more immediate need to bring Arsenal under control. Unless we can stop his reckless actions, Luthor's proposal will continue to gain momentum, which would be bad if it should pass. We need to bring Arsenal in."

"Wait," Superboy said, "I get that we need to have Arsenal answer for what he's done, but if we just go after him like that then we'll risk ostracizing him forever, and if we were to fail to bring him in: at best, we turn him into even more of a loose cannon than he is now; at worst, we may end up turning him into an enemy, perhaps even end up aligning him with the Light"

"Do you have an alternative?" Batman asked.

"We could have someone talk to him, someone who could relate to his anger issues, someone who had done something before that they regret. Being the perfect candidate, I'd like to volunteer to talk him down alone, convince him to turn himself in to answer for what he's done. If he does, then perhaps he can repair some of the damage he's done to all of us, can plea bargain for a lighter sentence, maybe even avoid being sentenced to Belle Reve or anywhere that someone who he's helped to put away is at."

"That was tried before, with Red Arrow," Batman stated, "What if Arsenal should prove likewise difficult to 'talk down'?"

"Then your idea would serve as Plan B," Superboy announced, "But I feel that we need to try talking to him first. We can't let the Light or their partners start dictating how we do things. If we go and drag Arsenal off to jail right after the Light threatens to hold our secret identities and private lives over our heads, then that's exactly what we are doing. And in the meantime, Megan can debrief you on what we learned and experienced during our time in that other world,"

Batman considered for a moment, then said, "I see no problems with this, any objections?" When no one said anything, he said, "Then we will locate Arsenal's current whereabouts and Superboy will rendezvous with him to talk him down. Remember, Connor, Arsenal's arm cannon was provided to him by Luthor, and we all know who he has a grudge against. Wonder Girl, Tigress, Robin, Static; You will remain on standby in the event if Superboy reports that he was unsuccessful, or if he fails to report in at all. Everyone else, dismissed."

As Connor starts to leave, Megan asks him psychically, _Connor, you didn't suggest that I go with you?_

_We can't go on every mission together,_ Connor explained, _and I think that we have a better chance of getting Arsenal to willingly stop if he has no reason to believe that he's being psychically coerced or manipulated. Besides, we need to do everything we can to make sure we can counter the Light's plans. Even if most of what we've experienced only serves as an amusing anecdote or an interesting historical study, if anything we know can help us to get a leg up on the Light rather than the other way around…_

_I understand,_ Megan said, _I'll fill in Batman on everything from that day, let him sort the fluff from the useful bits. Just….be careful, Connor._

_I don't really think that I don't have anything to worry from Roy,_ Connor said,_ but I'll be careful all the same._

* * *

As Kara and Zatanna head toward the Zeta tubes, Kara said, "Why do you think Batman hadn't chose me for this mission?"

"I'd say it'd be for the very reason that he warned Connor about Arsenal's arm cannon," Zatanna said, "If Luthor supplied it, then it likely either has a Kryptonite ray, a red solar ray, or a mystical component supplied by one of his allies, any of which Connor and you would be extremely vulnerable to. Those who were chosen all have talents and abilities that could be helpful against Arsenal should things go south with Connor's part. Don't worry, you'll get a mission soon enough."

"I know," Kara said, "it's just….knowing that my father may be alive somewhere out there but not knowing where; and not knowing when, how, or even if we're going to be able to save him….I just feel I need to keep busy, that's all."

"Believe me, I get it," Zatanna said, "If I could just get Nabu to choose another host, or even to just allow my father to have some down time; if I could get him to allow me to see my father from time to time, and to only have him don the helmet when the world needs Doctor Fate, there's almost nothing I wouldn't do to make that happen. Aside from making a pact with the devil, either figuratively or literally, that is," Zatanna adds with a small smile.

"Well," Kara said thoughtfully, "had you ever tried talking to Nabu?"

"Come again?" Zatanna asked.

"From what I've been able to gather from what you said," Kara explained, "this Nabu you mentioned is some sort of entity that possesses your father through the helmet in order to wield its power on this planet? And I'm also guessing that it's sentient and won't allow the helmet to be removed, because without a host it cannot do anything here on Earth?" When Zatanna nodded, Kara continued, "Well, if it's sentient, then it can be reasoned with. Perhaps if it understood that the reason most people won't don it willingly is due to the fact it won't let go; that if it would release them now and again so they may have some sort of a personal life, then they may be more willing to put it back on whenever the world needed the protection of Doctor Fate; then perhaps it may be willing to allow itself to be removed to let you and your father to see each other from time to time, in exchange for an agreement that those times would be brief, and that your dad would put it back on whenever called to do so."

"I hadn't thought of that," Zatanna conceded, "I'd been focused on trying to find some way to force it off, perhaps your idea may have a better chance of working. Thanks." Smiling, Zatanna asked, "Would you like to grab a cappuccino with me?"

"What's a cappuccino?" Kara asked.

" 'What's a….'?" Zatanna laughed, then said, "Girl, you desperately need a crash course on the finer points of Earth culture and cuisine! Here, let me be your instructor for today."

With that, Zatanna guided Zara into the Zeta tube and teleported away.

* * *

Later, at a run down apartment in Blüdhaven, Arsenal is doing his best to clean his one real hand with his mechanical one. As he starts to rinse off, Arsenal recalls when he was beating the thug, the horrified expression on the hostage's face, and begins to lather up again. He is so involved in the process that he's caught off guard by a voice behind him saying, "It seems it's never enough, doesn't it?"

Spinning around and converting his robotic hand into an arm cannon, Arsenal aims it at the bathroom door as Superboy steps through saying, "No matter how much soap we use, how hard we scrub, how thoroughly we clean our hands is never enough, is it? We never seem able to clean our hands of our 'mistakes'."

"What do you want?" Arsenal growls, not lowering his arm cannon, "You here to bring me in?"

"If I was here to 'bring you in'," Superboy corrected, "then I wouldn't have come here alone. No, I'm here to talk, and to listen if you feel like joining in."

"So this is an intervention then?" Arsenal says, his voice no longer a growl although he is still scowling, "Sorry, but I have nothing to say. That thug got what he deserved."

"Did he?" Superboy asked, "The hand aside, you wouldn't have needed more than a couple of blows to knock him out for the authorities to pick him up, but you took it far beyond what was necessary. And then there was the hostage."

Arsenal drops the aim on his arm cannon and says in irritation, "She was never in any real danger. My aim was perfect, and even if he had managed to get a shot off, my blast would've vaporized the bullet long before it would have reached her."

"Although I think that the thug's blood splatter indicates otherwise," Superboy countered, "the fact remains that you trust that weapon Luthor gave you far too much. I know from personal experience that his 'gifts' come with strings attached, and that he doesn't need to be present in order to control his toys. He could have 'corrected' your aim before you fired, or changed the aperture of the beam, or done a million other things that could have made that situation worse. You're lucky, or perhaps not so fortunate, that Luthor decided that your extreme actions were sufficient enough to promote his latest agenda to the public."

"What do you mean?" Arsenal asked, his scowl being replaced by confusion.

"Luthor's promoted the Vigilante Registration Act to the world's leaders," Superboy explained, "If it passes, then any of us who wish to continue to keep the peace has to register our secret identities with our government officials and, through them, law enforcement personnel. He didn't explicitly say so, but it follows that any of us who doesn't register and continues to protect others will be subject to immediate arrest."

"He can't do that!" Arsenal objected.

"It's true that he can't simply pass the law on his own," Superboy agreed, then continued, "but because of your hot-headed actions, Luthor may gain the support he needs to convince the world leaders to pass the law. Unless actions are taken to counter the momentum, then we'll have to choose between completely placing our private lives in the hands of our enemies, or continuing to safeguard others as we have been, but now as outlaws."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Arsenal asked, readying his arm cannon, "Let's go take Luthor down!"

"It's not that simple," Superboy said, gesturing for Arsenal to stop, "Luthor is a political figure now, as well as well known publicly. If we simply go after him with no proof of wrongdoing, then we'd simply be proving his point, and the likelihood of his Act passing goes from a possibility to a near-certainty."

"So we aren't going to do anything?" Arsenal asked incredulously.

"I didn't say that," Superboy countered, "What you had surmised about the reason is was here when I first showed up, that was pretty much Batman's first plan. He thought that if we bring you in to answer for what you've done, then perhaps that'll show the public that we aren't all becoming like you. However, I convinced him to let me talk to you instead. You see, Batman's plan would only place the League in a better light; those of us who haven't yet been inducted would still be susceptible to suspicion of being rogue. However, If you were to turn yourself in…"

"What?" Arsenal said, aghast.

"…then perhaps you can convince the public that we aren't like what Luthor and Godfrey are painting us to be," Superboy continued, "You could possibly convince them that you had simply lost yourself, your objectivity, in the heat of the moment. Because you turned yourself in to account for your actions, you could try and arrange for a lighter sentence, to not be sent to Belle Reve or to general population."

"I'm not sure I can do that," Arsenal argued heatedly, "I lost eight years of my life due to Luthor, and to place what remains of it in the hands of him and his lackeys…"

"Believe me, I understand," Superboy interjected, "I know what it's like to have so much anger you don't know what to do with it, and even though I've only been around for about six years, I know how it feels to have your life messed up by Luthor…"

* * *

Meanwhile, on Apokalypse.

"Is it alone?" Darkseid asked.

"Relatively, my lord," Desaad answers, "There is only one potential defender nearby, and a few meat scattered nearby, but I feel confident that they can effectively deal with all of it with no problems."

"Then inform them that they may proceed," Darkseid announces with a smile

* * *

In Star City, Kara and Zatanna, both in civilian attire, are sitting down at a table outside a café that's closed for the evening.

As Kara takes a sip from the foamy beverage, Kara says, "So this is a cappuccino. I've never had anything like it on Krypton or at….the farm. It's….interesting."

"Sorry, it's probably not that fresh," Zatanna apologized, "We were lucky to catch that street vendor before he closed for the evening, but it's probably been sitting for a while and likely burnt."

"It's fine really," Kara assured her, "I've just never tasted anything like this before. If this is not fresh and burnt, then I think I'd look forward to trying some that's fresh the next time."

"Glad to hear it," Zatanna said, "So, what do you think of Earth so far?"

"It's very different from Krypton, though not in a bad way," Kara said, "In many ways it's rougher, more primitive. But its cities also possess a character many of ours lack. In the short time I've been here, I've seen and experienced more variety here than in all of my years on Krypton. It's the kind of thing that Kell-Ur and I…. that were hoping to…"

As Kara trailed off, Zatanna saw that a change of topic was in order, so she asked, "So, had you decided on a civilian name yet?"

After a moment's hesitation, Kara asked, "What do you know about my cousin?"

Understanding what Kara was actually asking, Zatanna said, "Like everyone on the league, I know that he was found and raised in Kansas, that he makes his living as a reporter, that he's currently engaged to a fellow reporter."

Satisfied with Zatanna's answer, Kara said, "I was thinking of going by Linda Clark, using the maiden name of my cousin's adoptive mom as my own last name, that way I could be referred to as his cousin on her side of the family."

"It's a nice name," Zatanna acknowledged, "Well at least tomorrow, assuming we're both not busy, I'll have something to call you when we go out for burgers and milkshakes."

As Kara smiles and goes to take another sip, she and Zatanna are both startled by an loud sound not unlike that of a sonic boom. When they whirl towards the sound, they spot a Boom Tube near their location, out of which a number of women exit, all of whom are of varying body types and wearing outlandish body armor, none of whom appear very friendly.

As Zatanna speaks a chant that changes both of their outfits into their uniforms, the last woman exits the Boom Tube: a grey haired, yet powerfully built elderly woman who's armor is equally strange. As the tube closes behind them, the elder woman says, "Ah, girl's night out. Can Granny and her girls join you?"

* * *

"If Bart hadn't shown up when he did, and Megan hadn't been so talented and quick thinking," Superboy continued, "I don't want to think how that situation could have turned out."

"Wow," Arsenal said, "You _do_ have as much reason to hate Luthor as I do, perhaps even more so. But you seem so calm now, how do you do it?"

"If I were alone, I don't think I could have, but I have Megan, and Kal-El, Kaldur, Wally, Artemis, and now my cousin Kara. Their support helps keep me strong and focused. And even though I know you don't believe it, you're not alone either. You have Oliver."

"Do I?" Arsenal started angrily, "He stopped looking for me! All of you did! Only Red Arrow, my clone, never gave up!"

"We only sopped after five years because we had no reason to believe that the Light kept you alive," Superboy said calmly, "And Red Arrow felt he had to keep searching for you; he had a reverse-Pinocchio belief that he wasn't real, so that was the only way he felt he could give his life purpose. Now that he achieved his goal, however, he's hung up his bow so that he can focus on raising his daughter Liam."

"But…" Arsenal started before Superboy's communicator started beeping. Signaling Arsenal to remain quiet, Connor answered, "Superboy here."

"Superboy, it's Batman," Batman stated, his voice sounding rather staticy, "What's the situation there?"

"Unfinished, but stable," Superboy said with a glance at Arsenal.

"Well, you may need to abort your mission regardless," Batman said, "We just got a partial distress call from Kara and Zatanna before a surge of unknown origin caused damage to communications and the Zeta tube system to go down. You were the first we were able to reestablish communications with. You need to go down to Star City and render what assistance is necessary."

After a quick glance at Arsenal, Superboy said, "On my way."

As Superboy leaps out the window, Arsenal hesitates for half a second before rushing to the widow and hollering, "Wait! I can help." As Superboy hovers and considers, Arsenal adds, "This Kara, she's your cousin right? Besides Superman, she's the only real member of your family. I lost my family long ago. Oliver may have been the closest thing I had to a family, until Luthor took my arm and turned me into a popsicle for eight years. If I can prevent anyone else from losing a loved one, I'll do what I have to."

After considering for a second, Superboy called out, "Sphere!" As Sphere in Super Cycle mode soared towards him, Superboy said to Arsenal, "You will do what I say, when I say to do it. There will be no repeats of the situation at the Reach production facility or Warworld, and your helping out won't negate the need for you to answer for what you have done. But I'll be glad of your help," Superboy finished with a smile.

Arsenal returned his smile, then hopped on the Super Cycle and together they soared off.

* * *

Moments later, after following a few course correction suggestions by Sphere, they approached the café that Kara and Zatanna were hanging out at, and it's immediately apparent why the distress call was sent out. The signs of a recent fierce battle apparent, Superboy and Arsenal arrive in time to see the last of the Furies entering the Boom Tube, with Supergirl draped over Stompa's shoulder. As Lashina sees the two heroes approaching, she blows them a kiss and waves goodbye as she enters the boom tube herself, which closes just as they arrive on the scene.

As Superboy pounds the pavement in frustration, Arsenal sees Zatanna lying face-down amongst a pile of broken tables and chairs and calls out, "Superboy, over here!" Working together, they dig Zatanna out and gently turn her over, sighing with relief when they see she's still alive. As her eyes flutter open, Zatanna touched the fierce red welt circling her throat and croaks, "We were completely overwhelmed. I tried to call for assistance, but the one who calls herself Granny did something with a box and I lost contact. I tried to cast a spell, but the one with the silver whips used them to choke me. If it weren't for Kara, I might have been killed. I'm sorry Connor, it's my fault she got captured. If she hadn't needed to protect me…"

"Don't worry about that," Superboy interrupted, "it wasn't your fault, and we will get her back, but first we need to get you sorted out." As Arsenal helped Zatanna get to her feet, Superboy activated the communicator and said, "Superboy to Watchtower, I'm at the scene, but arrived too late. Zatanna was severely injured and Supergirl was captured by various female warriors who left by Boom Tube. I surmise that they were from Apokalypse."

"Understood," Batman said, "The Zeta Tubes are still down, so you'll have to find another way to get her up to Medical."

"No," Zatanna croaked in protest, "I'll be fine, you guys have to go after Kara."

"Look," Superboy argued, "Even if we did have a way to follow them, we can't just lea…"

Superboy was interrupted by Sphere angrily revving, roaring and beeping. Apparently able to understand Sphere's method of communication, Superboy said, "Are you sure?" When Sphere roared and revved in response, Superboy nodded then said into the communicator, "Sphere says she can take us to where Supergirl was taken."

"Negative," Batman argued, "You need go get Zatanna up here, then once the Zeta tubes are operational again we'll devise a plan and assemble a team to rescue Supergirl."

Sphere revs and roars angrily again, then opens a concealed compartment to reveal a Mother Box inside while roaring and revving some more.

"Sphere says that while we scout ahead, you guys can use this Mother Box to repair the damage to your systems that the Father Box caused. Then once the repairs are complete, the Mother Box can guide the Zeta Tubes to allow you to teleport to our location."

Zatanna walked over to Sphere and picked up the Mother Box, saying huskily, "I'll take it to Watchtower. That way you can go after her and Batman can get repairs underway while I get patched up."

"Then I'm going with you, Superboy," Arsenal announced, "You'll be heading into enemy territory and will likely be heavily outnumbered. I've heard that you aren't exactly 'Mr. Stealth', so you'll need my assistance if we're to snatch your cousin from under their noses."

Batman sighs exasperatedly, then states, "Very well. Zatanna, you get the Mother Box up here to Watchtower, then head straight to Medical. Superboy, Arsenal; you guys take Sphere and scout out the situation, but don't take any unnecessary chances. If you find an opportunity to retrieve Supergirl and return before anyone becomes aware, then feel free to do so. Otherwise, just locate her and wait for the others to arrive. Batman out."

As Superboy takes his customary position behind the handlebars and Arsenal settles on behind him, Zatanna says hoarsely, "You guys be careful now."

Arsenal smiles down at her and says, "You just focus on getting better. We'll show those freaks that they can't take one of ours and expect to get away with it."

And with that, a pair of Boom Tubes open and Zatanna walks into one while Superboy and Arsenal ride Sphere into the other.

* * *

The first thing that struck Superboy upon exiting the Boom Tube was the heat. He had been in a desert in Bialya and a savanna in Quarac, and those were some of the hottest places on Earth he knew. This place he found himself in now was hotter by far, and it didn't take long to determine why. As far as he could see, from here to the horizon, the surface of the world was punctuated by virtually-bottomless shafts of immense size which belched flames into the sky. Connor could not imagine how such a world could possibly exist, much less how people could actually live here. _If there really is a Hell,_ Connor thought, _then it must look a lot like this._

"This is where your cousin was taken?" Arsenal asked anxiously.

"That's what Sphere said," Superboy responded, "Hope you aren't getting cold feet now."

"Of course not," Arsenal said, somewhat offended, "I just feel that we shouldn't stick around very long, that's all. This place makes Warworld look like a vacation resort."

As they descended in a serpentine path to avoid being spotted by parademon patrols, they landed near a building from which screams of varying tones and volumes could be heard. As they disembarked, Sphere made a series of revs and beeps. "Sphere says Kara is somewhere inside," Connor translated.

As the terrible sounds within made Arsenal cringe, he said, "Doesn't sound too good, does it?"

Connor clenched his fist. As he thought of how Kara had lost her home, possibly her family and friends, been sent to a strange planet with almost no explanation, and almost been made an exhibit in an alien Zoo; the fact that these people had come to but her through yet another level of Hell made him want to tear this place and everyone here apart! What had he been thinking, believing that he had what it takes to convince Arsenal to let go of his anger? Not trusting himself to say more, Superboy said, "Let's get Kara and get out of here."

* * *

After instructing Sphere to find someplace nearby to hide until they called for her, Superboy and Arsenal made their way into the facility. As they made their way through, ducking into a room or down an intersection to avoid a technician or a patrolling guard, they saw numerous people hooked up to machines and apparatuses of various sizes and shapes. Even though the appearances of the devices varied, the way those who were hooked up to them were screaming made their purpose all too clear. Superboy was hard pressed to not only resist his impulse to free all the victims here, but also to maintain his focus to filter out all the other screams so that he can follow Kara's back to their source.

Finally they came across a room that Connor was certain Kara's screaming was coming from. Signaling Arsenal to remain still and quiet, Superboy focused his hearing and his thermal vision to determine what was going on inside. He was able to make out three figures: one was a slender female figure who was strapped spread eagle upright and screaming (Kara), one was a shorter and stockier female figure that carried an air of authority (possibly one of the female warriors who attacked), and a slender and apparently male figure who was leaning over some sort of controls (possibly the chief torturer of this place). As the male fiddled with a control and Kara's screaming stopped, the stocky female asked with a voice that sounded much like an evil Martha Kent, "Lord Darkseid wishes to know how much longer the conditioning will take, Desaad."

Connor almost lost his focus as he recognized those names. Desaad, the sadistic and hideous man he'd encountered when he was fighting alongside the Forever People, and Darkseid, the leader of Apokalypse whom they'd recently learned is working together with the Light. Concentrating, he heard Desaad say, "Patience, Granny Goodness, a good torture takes time. If I wanted I could have broken the will of this young one already, despite how strong it is. However, if you want a new addition to your Furies rather than a mere slave, then that takes fine tuning. You can tell our lord that she'll be ready in a mere two hours."

"She better be, for your sake," Granny Goodness warns Desaad, "After that Infinity Man debacle six years ago, our lord's patience with you has worn thin. Only positive results will satisfy him now. I'll deliver your report and leave you to your work, torturer."

As Granny came towards the door where they were, Superboy quickly dragged Arsenal towards a room across the hall, where they waited while her footsteps receded down the hall.

Before Granny could get far enough away, Kara started screaming again. As he was waiting till he figured she was too far away to notice a break-in, Connor saw that Arsenal had morphed his arm into a hand cannon again. Reaching an arm out to block him, Connor asked Arsenal, "What are you doing? You can't fire that thing in here!"

Arsenal, looking irritated, asked, "You're not going to tell me that man doesn't deserve it, are you?"

Superboy started to deny it, but then realized how hypocritical that would sound, considering how much he himself wanted to turn Desaad into a bloody paste. Instead, Conner answered, "Of course I'm not, but the sound of the blast will bring every guard in here running. I don't know about you, but I don't intend to fight the entire planet on the way out of here."

"Do you have any better suggestions?" Arsenal asked.

Considering for a moment, Conner inquired, "Does that thing have a tranquilizer option?"

Arsenal's face lifted in a smirk of anticipation.

* * *

In the torture room, Desaad is saying soothingly to a screaming Kara, "Now there, it's nearly over. Very soon, fear of pain, concern of old friends or family, all thoughts of your old life will fall away, and you will know the joy that comes with fighting for the glory of our lord Darkseid."

At that moment, Superboy and Arsenal burst into the door and, before Desaad could react, Arsenal aimed and fired a tranquilizer dart at him, dropping him where he stood. Superboy quickly went over the controls until he found the ones to shut down the machine torturing Kara. As she fell silent, Connor went over to Kara and asked, "Kara, can you hear me?"

Kara's eyes fluttered open and focused blearily on Connor's face at first. Then, as her vision cleared, she shrank back as far as her restraints would allow and whimpered fearfully, "No, please! Not again! Don't make me see it again!"

Connor's vision went red for a moment again before he brought his fury under control. _Get Kara out of here first,_ Connor thought to himself, _tear this planet a new fire-pit later._ "Kara, it's okay. It's me, Connor."

After blinking a few times, Kara asked with a hope she was afraid might be false, "Connor? Is it really you?"

"It's me, Kara," Connor said reassuringly, "Arsenal's here too. We're getting you out of here."

After trying and failing to find the controls to release her restraints, he then tried using his strength to break them, also to no avail. Behind Connor, Arsenal keyed a new configuration into his limb as he said, "Let me have a try." He then used a tightly focused laser beam to carefully cut through Kara's restraints.

As Arsenal finally cuts through the final one, Kara starts to slump towards the floor before Connor catches her, saying, "It's okay, I've got you." Placing one of her arms around his neck and one of his arms around her back and under her shoulder, Superboy asks, "Can you walk?"

Kara replies weakly, "I….think so."

"Great," Arsenal says tensely, "then let's get out of here."

* * *

The three of them make their way back through the building, with Connor supporting Kara and Arsenal frequently checking the hallways ahead to make sure they're clear, and behind to make sure they weren't spotted. When they finally reach the front entrance, Superboy says, "Okay, once we get outside, I'm going to call for Sphere and we'll make a break for it."

When Kara and Arsenal nod in understanding, Superboy keys open the door and the three of them start to run out before the shock of what they see brings them up short. Surrounding the entrance is a massive battalion the likes of which none of them had ever seen before. On the frontlines is the Fatal Furies, including Granny Goodness. Behind them is more parademons than any of them could count given months in which to do it. And in the center of them all, yet towering over them, is an imposing figure with a craggy grey complexion, black and red eyes, and a tight blue outfit covering his torso, shoulders and hooding the back of his head: Darkseid himself.

"Well now, my dear, leaving so soon?" Granny Goodness said, smiling, "And without introducing your friends who came to visit, either. Naughty girl, you'll have to be punished."

"Well you were right, Desaad," Darkseid said imperiously, "someone did come to rescue the Kryptonian, but such a paltry force….I'm not sure if I should admire their bravery or feel insulted at their stupidity."

Hearing a sound behind them, they turn to see Desaad, showing absolutely no signs of weakness from the tranquilizer he'd been shot with. Desaad, smirking smugly, said, "If there's something that I've learned from the times I've been down to that planet, it's the camaraderie that the 'heroes' of that planet share, and how they'll always come to the aid of one of their own." As he brushes past the trio and kneels before his master, he continues, "Of course, as you well know, I know far more about how to break a person's spirit and bend them to your will. And as effective as torture can be to than end, and my techniques are _very_ effective, what I've found to be most effective is allowing them to get hopeful about a possible escape, then to replace it with despair as they're forced to watch as their rescuers get slaughtered on the verge of freedom."

Granny Goodness, turning and kneeling towards Darkseid as well, said, "My lord, please allow my girls to dispose of these interlopers for you. We'll make it extremely long and painful for them, and painful for her to watch."

After musing for a moment, Darkseid finally said, "No. I've decided to honor their bravery after all. I'll take care of them myself, and I'll make their deaths quick and painless, starting with the one that shares the symbol of my newest Fury."

Superboy, understanding that Darkseid was referring to him, handed Kara over to Arsenal as he braced himself for a confrontation. When Darkseid's eyes lit up, they emitted a ray unlike anything Connor had seen before: they traveled a chaotic, zigzagging path that homed in on him. Before Connor could decide whether to dodge or block them, or to try and charge Darkseid for a direct attack, Connor saw Sphere break through the ranks of the flying parademons like ten-pins and place itself directly between Connor and the deadly rays.

As the rays struck, Sphere squealed as Connor yelled, "_Spheeerrree!_"

Darkseid sighed as Sphere dissolved into nothingness, saying "That New Genesphere, so stupidly loyal."

At that statement, Connor's vision went beyond red, and he felt a rage that was far greater even than what he felt when he was using the shields Luthor gave him long ago. His muscles tensed, his eyes burned. As he screamed in grief and fury, fiery energy poured from his eyes in a torrent, the force of which knocked Darkseid through the ranks of his own Parademons as it struck him in the chest.

"My lord!" Granny Goodness cried out in shock.

As the Furies and the parademons who were not knocked out by Superboy's attack started to move forward to attack in defense of their master, Darkseid cried out, "Stop!"

As they cleared the path and kneeled in deference, Darkseid got back to his feet. Grasping his chest, panting in pain and fury, Darkseid growled, "For that….boy….I'll make you suffer!"

Darkseid unleashed another blast of his Omega Vision, which was met directly by Superboy's Heat Vision. For a moment, the two blasts were at a stalemate, then Darkseid's blast begins to close on Connor. Then Kara adds her own Heat Vision to the impact point, followed quickly by a sustained blast by Arsenal's Arm Cannon. Then, just as the blast starts to go back towards Darkseid, Arsenal's cannon overloads and explodes. As Darkseid's blast starts to gain the upper hand again, Darkseid growls out, "You. Boy. Are. Dead!"

Then a third blast of Heat Vision hits Darkseid in the back, causing him to lose focus and catch Kara's and Superboy's Heat Vision blasts in the face. As Darkseid staggers and turns to see struck him from behind, he sees Superman, who's quickly joined by Batman wearing a flight suit. Then by Icon and Rocket. Then Doctor Fate. Then Green Arrow on a flight board. Then Captain Atom. Then Captain Marvel. Then Robin and Batgirl in flight suits. Then Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman. Then Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardner. Then Wally West (in the flash costume), Bart Allen (as Kid Flash), Johnny and Jessie Quick. Then Aquaman, Aqualad, Black Lightning, Static, Plastic Man, Atom, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Blue Beetle, Guardian, and Bumblebee.

As Darkseid scowls furiously, Superman announces, "You only have two choices here, Darkseid: you can stand down and let us depart with our people, and later you can coordinate an attack with your allies in the Light, or we can have it out right now."

Panting in barely contained fury, Darkseid growls, "All of you may go, but mark my words; next time you cross my path I will end you!"

Everyone, including Connor, Kara, and a somewhat injured and one-armed Arsenal, Zeta-teleported away, leaving Darkseid scowling in fury.

* * *

Back at Watchtower, Kara asks Superman, "You showed up at just the right time, how'd you know to come?"

"We got a message from Sphere through the Mother Box saying, 'come now'," Superman explained, "By the way, I didn't see her there, where did Sphere go?"

As Connor brushed past them without looking up, Kara explained sadly, "Sphere's gone. She sacrificed herself to save Connor from Darkseid's attack."

"I'm sorry," Superman said.

Arsenal approaches Green Arrow and, looking down, says, "I….I'm ready. I'm ready to answer for my mistakes, and I'm sorry for blaming you for stopping the search for me. I guess in your place, after five years of no evidence, I would've done the same."

"You have to believe me," Oliver pleaded, "if I had found anything that gave any indication you were still around, I wouldn't have stopped looking."

"I do believe you," Arsenal said, "Maybe I would've believed you then, but I was so angry that I'd lost so much of my life, and I wanted someone to blame. You were handy. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Oliver reciprocated, then Oliver and Arsenal embraced.

* * *

As Connor entered his room, he found Megan and Wolf waiting for him. No words were needed, as Megan felt Connor's grief through their mind link and Wolf sensed it through his instincts. Megan simply wrapped Connor in an embrace and Wolf curled himself around Connor's feet.

* * *

Later that evening, Cat Grant sat at her news desk as she says, "Breaking news, earlier this evening the former hero known as Arsenal turned himself in to authorities in order to answer against charges of the use of excessive force and the endangerment of civilians. As he was escorted into the police station, he had this statement to make."

As the broadcast shifts to a recording of Arsenal in front of the police station, Arsenal says, "I made a mistake. I allowed my anger to get the better of me and now I must face the consequences for what I've done. That's all there is to it."

A flurry of questions is heard from the reporters, although one is heard to ask, "Will you be making known your secret Identity in the trial?"

"No," Arsenal answers, "I have no secret identity, not anymore. If my parents were still alive, I'm sure that they would have disowned me for what I've done. Since they are not, I must act in their stead by relinquishing all ties to the name I was born under. From this point on, and until I feel I've paid my debt enough that I have earned a life of my own again, I will be known as Arsenal, nothing more. That is all."

Arsenal is then escorted into the police station despite the reporters still asking questions. As the broadcast refocuses on Cat Grant, she asks, "What could Arsenal's statements mean, what will come out in the trial, and what will all of this mean for Secretary General Luthor's proposed Vigilante Registration Act? Only time will tell what will happen. Stay tuned to GBS for the events to come."

End of chapter


	5. 5) Relationships

Relationships

In the skies over Coast City, A furious battle is taking place between Green Lantern and Star Sapphire. Meeting light construct for light construct, the two combatants seem to be evenly matched.

"Why can't you see that we are meant to be?" Star Sapphire cries out as she creates a f-14 Tomcat which launches a series of missiles at Hal Jordan.

"And I might be tempted to agree," Hal stated as he countered by generating a pair of F-35 Lightning II's who shot most of the missiles out of the sky, though one is only clipped and is sent crashing into the ground instead, "Unfortunately, Carol has this thing against not dating employees, and I'm finding myself hard-pressed to change her mind on that. Of course, your taking control over her every six months doesn't exactly help matters either."

Star Sapphire then abandons the fighter construct and then charges Hal with a generated broadsword that he meets with a shield and mace. "But we're finally equals now, so we can be together just like you wanted!" Star Sapphire pleaded.

"I wish I could believe what you're saying," Hal countered as he defended himself against Sapphire's furious assault, "but I've seen what you're capable of, and I can't trust that the words coming out of your mouth are hers and not yours." As a blow from his mace knocks away Sapphire's sword, Hal changes the mace into a giant pair if pliers and attaches them to the gem as he says, "I'm sorry, but it's time for you to go away again."

"Nooooo!" Star Sapphire cries as the gem is pried off her abdomen, then the uniform disappears and reveals Carol Ferris in a business-casual outfit. As she collapses, Hal catches her before she can fall to the ground below. Then when the gem shoots off towards the stratosphere, Hal starts to give chase with Carol in tow. However, when Carol looks back towards the ground she cries out, "Hal, the planes!"

Looking back down towards the airfield, Hal saw that the one missile that had crashed to the ground had started a small fire, which was now quickly growing in size and threatening Carol's experimental aircraft. Sparing one last glance towards the retreating gem, Hal growls, "Next time," before returning to rescue the endangered airfield, leaving the gem to escape into the void.

* * *

After one more glance into Connor's room, Megan walked down the halls of Watchtower with no particular destination in mind. Earlier she'd tried to ask Connor if he'd like to go out to eat or something, but he'd gently declined, replying that he wasn't hungry and she should go "have fun." Of course, Megan could tell that it wasn't that he wasn't hungry or anything like that, as she could feel his pain as acutely as if it were her own: he was simply punishing himself. He blamed himself for walking into the deathtrap on Apokalypse, for Sphere having to sacrifice herself to save him (which Megan was eternally grateful for, 'though she misses Sphere too.)

Megan hoped that Connor's scheduled appointment with Black Canary tomorrow afternoon would help him to get over his grief and self-hatred that he was currently feeling, because she was totally at a loss as to help him herself. Sometimes she wondered if she and Connor were one of those star-crossed lovers that guy Shakespeare had written about. Between her going too far in using her abilities, Luthor using Connor as a puppet, her getting kidnapped by a freak with a Lewis Carol obsession, and now this thing with Sphere: it seems that anytime that the two of them were getting along fine, the cosmos would slam on the brakes and kick one of them out to the curb in the rain before continuing on.

When she found herself in the hangar where she's parked the Bio-ship, she'd decided that she could use a moment to step out for some clarity. The last time she talked to her uncle John about it, the situation back home was "tense, but stable." Perhaps things back home were mellow enough for her to stop by and speak with her mom about Connor.

After she took off, Megan hoped that her mother would be okay with her dating a non-Martian, because she could really use her advice. Of course, her mom is a Green Martian who married a White, so it's not like her mother's "conventional" or anything, but still…

Megan's musing was interrupted by the Bio-ship's frantic warning of a small and unknown object rapidly closing on their position at high speed, followed shortly by the Bio-ship screaming in pain as said object punched through her underside. Before Megan could react to confront her intruder, a small, tri-forked gem glowing with a violet light came around to her view shortly before attaching itself to her abdomen. As her outfit changed to an amalgamation of the Star Sapphire outfit and her own Miss Martian uniform, Megan's expression changed from one of shock to a grin of deep satisfaction as, with a slight vibration in her voice caused by the protective energy field, she said, "This'll do."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Artemis was feeling a bit useless herself. She was in her Tigress outfit trying to help Wally (as the Flash) stop a gang of thieves who were trying to steal some priceless original film reels, but Wally was quickly proving that he didn't need the help. Wally had most of the thugs down before Artemis could line up a shot, and even she did get a shot off the thug was already down long before her arrow came close to hitting them.

Finally, when she saw a sniper on a rooftop aiming a high powered rifle at Wally's unprotected back, she nocked am arrow and shot it at the man. However, when Wally heard the twang of the crossbow's string and where She was aiming at, Wally raised his arm and did….something that increased the arrow's velocity, enabling the projectile to reach the sniper with no problem. Wally then smiled and kissed her on the cheek as he said, "Thanks, Tigress!" Artemis then smiled and, as Wally raced off to mop up what's left of the gang, replied half-heartedly, "Sure, no problem."

Later, once the local police had finished loading the thugs into the paddy wagon, some of them swearing revenge on The Flash while others grumbled about what could've brought the Flash down to LA, Wally turned towards Artemis and said, "Well, we did it!"

Artemis, still wearing her weak smile, said in the same half-hearted tone, "Yeah, we did."

Wally, hearing the off tone in her voice, asked conceredly, "Artemis? Is there something bothering you?"

"It's nothing, really," Artemis said in a tone that was none too convincing, "I'm just thinking it may be time for me to hang up my bow again, at least until the next major crisis comes along."

"Why's that?" Wally said in surprise, "You did great tonight!"

"No, Wal," Artemis countered, "_you_ did great tonight. I couldn't even keep up with you. You had the whole gang out cold before I could even blink! I imagine you would have done just as well if I weren't here tonight."

"But the sniper…." Wally started to argue.

"You would have heard the rifle's shot, just as you heard my arrow," Artemis interrupted, "then you would have knocked any thugs out of the line of fire and raced up there to take care of him too. Let's face it, the main reason I kept myself in the hero game after you returned was because you were getting back into it yourself. But it's not like when we were kids anymore. And while my skills are still pretty much the same as they were back then, you have raced light-years beyond me. While you could function on a mission just as well without me, I've lost my interest in working apart from you, and I'm no longer as much of a help towards you anymore. So….that's it. I'll see if I can't resume my college studies this coming semester."

Wally sighed and said, "I wish I could say I didn't see this coming, and I'm sorry if I made you feel useless or anything. Truth is I'm still trying to get used to my new speed and, as you said, these thieves were easy pickings. Of course, I feel more confident when you're here, and while it may have been common thieves today, tomorrow it could be Abra Kadabra, or the Rogues, or even Vandal Savage. If you don't feel like you can continue, though, then you have my support to take a break or retire fully. Last thing I want is for you to get hurt by pushing yourself to be out there when your head and heart's not in it. _You_ are what's most important to me, not what clothes you wear to work."

Artemis then smiled fully and said, "I'll consider what you've said. Thanks for understanding, Wal."

Wally replied with a smile of his own, "That's what I'm here for."

* * *

Iris smiled at her husband Barry from her bed in the maternity ward and said, "You know, honey, you don't have to stick around here if you want to go for a quick run. I'm sure that Jay will let you borrow one of his old uniforms."

"No, no," Barry said quickly, "I'm fine right here. I'm with you."

With a twinkle in her eye, Iris said, "Oh, then I guess the vibration I'm feeling is due to someone leaving their cell phone on silent and stuffing it between my mattresses."

Barry looked down and, seeing that he's been nervously tapping his heel at super-speed, places both of his hands on his knee to stop it from bouncing. "That's not it, I'm just anxious for our kids to be born, that's all!"

"Well the doctors have me scheduled for a C-section tomorrow, so I'll be fine," Iris said fondly, "Go out & grab some air or something."

"Not a chance," Barry replied gently, "I'm here for the duration."

Iris sighs just as there's a knock on the hospital room door and Hal Jordan, wearing a simple pair of jeans and an aviator jacket pokes his head through the door asking, "May I come in?"

"Finally!" Iris sighs in mock-exasperation, "Can you go and take my hard-headed husband out for a drink or something?"

"You know I'd love to, Iris," Hal says, smiling as he comes in and closes the door behind him, "but for someone so quick on his feet Barry can be surprisingly stubborn when he's set his mind on something."

As Barry stands to greet his friend, Hal grasps his hand in camaraderie as he asks, "Been driving her up a wall, huh?"

Barry responds with a big smile, "I guess so. Who would have guessed that, out of all the women who want their husbands there when they're going to give birth, I'd end up with an understanding, independent woman who's trying to kick me out the door in the 11th hour?"

"Hello? Boys?" Iris calls out, smiling, "Lying right here!"

"Sorry!" Barry and Hal say simultaneously, then Barry says to Hal, "I heard you had an incident with your on-again/off-again."

"Yeah," Hal replied as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I only wish I could figure out what it is that the Sapphire really wants, so I can deal with it more effectively. The only thing I've been able to gather that it's after, though, is me. If only Carol could be that consistent."

"You just have to be patient with her, that's all," Barry said understandingly, "Just show her that you aren't going anywhere or changing course, no matter how many defensive shields she puts between the two of you. Then she'll either accept that you really care about her and she'll want to be with you, or she'll just tell you to get lost and you can move on with your life. But I think, if you show her you're someone she can depend on to be there through thick and thin, then she'll choose the former."

"Thanks, bud!" Hal said.

"Anytime!" Barry replied.

A ring like that of a cellphone can then be heard within the room. Digging in his jeans pocket, Hal pulls out a communicator disguised as a common flip-style cell phone, then flips it open and says, "Hal here." The smile then drops off his face as he says, "What? Say that _again?_"

* * *

"At 1800 hours, Star Sapphire had infiltrated Watchtower," Batman explains during a briefing in the Watchtower.

"But that's impossible!" Green Lantern countered, "After I beat Sapphire I was with Carol the whole time while I was putting out the fires from our battle."

"And how did she get in, anyway?" Blue Beetle added, "I'm pretty sure I was here the whole time, and I never heard the intruder alarm."

"The explanation to both is that the Sapphire's gem had taken a new host after your battle," Batman explained, "one who is able to bypass Watchtower's security systems without triggering an alarm."

Batman then triggered a display that showed security footage from outside Connor's room, showing Megan/Star Sapphire leaving it with an unconscious Superboy in tow.

"Megan?!" Zatanna barked in surprise.

"But how?" Wonder Girl added, "Isn't she like one of the most powerful telepaths on the planet?"

"Actually, she may be _the_ most powerful telepath in the _galaxy_," Martian Manhunter confirmed, "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that my niece may have been emotionally vulnerable due to Superboy's recent experience on Apokalypse."

Batman nodded, as if he'd already deduced as much, "Then the first step to saving or stopping her would be determining where she'd headed with Superboy."

Manhunter turned towards Hal and asked, "You said that the Sapphire's power is derived from and driven by love?"

Green Lantern answers, "So she keeps claiming. While my ring's powered by will, her power supposedly comes from love."

"Then I suspect that she'll go to Mars," Manhunter suggests, "In addition to her love for Connor, which may be why she took him, Megan also possesses a strong love for our people, and her family in particular. She was rather distressed that tensions among our people may possibly lead to a civil war, which apparently rendered our people virtually extinct in that other world."

"She'll likely try to use the Sapphire's powers to prevent that from happening," Green Lantern agrees, "and if the Sapphire is in control, as I suspect, then she'll likely not stop at genocide to achieve her goals."

"Man oh man, an enemy with the powers of Green Lantern and Miss Martian?" Blue Beetle exclaimed despairingly, "We don't stand a chance!"

"This will require a team effort to save Miss Martian from the Star Sapphire, or to stop her if the former proves to be impossible," Batman says gravely.

This statement shocks everyone there, especially Blue Beetle who says, "Wait, 'stop'? As in take out?"

"That would not be my preference," Batman states, "but we cannot allow Star Sapphire to end the lives of so many on Mars. But if you don't feel that you're up to it…"

"Uno momento, El Murciélago," Blue Beetle interrupts angrily, "I am going on this mission, and I'm going to help bring Miss M back alive! But if I hear one more word from you about 'taking her out', than I'm going to see if your hearing is as sensitive as your namesake!"

_Yes, Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab said in his mind eagerly,_ I approve of this plan!_

"I'm going too," Wonder Girl volunteered, "Connor and Megan are both my friends, they have enough grief on their plates without some alien bling adding to it, and my powers shouldn't be hindered by the lower gravity."

"I believe that our breathing masks should allow me to breathe and speak in the rarified atmosphere there, so my spells should help," Zatanna said, "Count me in."

"I've faced Star Sapphire a number of times before, so I believe I can be of assistance to you here," Green Lantern chimed in.

"And I believe I can help in shielding you from M'gann's mental assaults," Manhunter added, "but I fear I may have to echo Blue Beetle's earlier comment. Even our combined efforts may not be enough if the Star Sapphire has access to all of M'gann's abilities. In the end, the only one who may have the power to save my niece is M'gann herself."

* * *

Connor woke up with the worst headache ever, worse than even the ones he had after Psimon and Megan respectively had brain-blasted him. As he started to sit up, he noticed that he was feeling rather light-headed, almost as if it was just floating on the top of his neck. When he pushed up from the ground and accidentally launched himself into the air, he discovered that he wasn't merely feeling light-headed; the gravity was actually lower here. And the sandy surface he'd landed in told him the wasn't in his room at Watchtower. Just where was he?

"You're finally awake!" Connor heard Megan say from behind him. As he turned and saw her he felt like blushing furiously. What on Earth was she _wearing?!_ Though it resembled her Miss Martian uniform somewhat, there was a lot of violet mixed in there as well and it revealed _way_ too much! He didn't think it was exactly adult magazine material, but it was nearly as bad as what the female fighters wore on that fighting video game Bart and Garth like so much. The most striking change to her outfit was a large glowing violet gem on her bare midriff.

"Uh….um…" Connor muttered inarticulately, unable to look directly at her.

Looking down at herself, Megan asked, "A little much?" She then concentrated on her outfit and said, "There, is that better?"

As Connor looked up again, he felt he could breathe a sigh of relief. While this outfit was still less conservative than what Megan usually wore, at least it left far more to the imagination than what she was wearing before. Still resembling a version of her uniform, this outfit was more of a one-piece topped by a miniskirt. It still had a lot of violet in its color scheme and it still bore that gem (that looked somehow familiar to him) on her no-longer-bare midriff.

When he found his voice again, Conner asked the question that he was pretty sure he knew the answer to already, "Where are we?"

Megan giggled and said, "We're home, on Mars!" As she gripped his hand, she started pulling him along as she said, "Come on! I want you to meet my parents!"

Connor gulped and suddenly found it hard to breathe. The last thin he remembered before waking up here was telling Megan that he didn't feel up to going out tonight. He'd realized that had probably hurt her feelings, and that she was probably also grieving over Sphere, but he just couldn't find the energy at the time to climb out of the void that event had cast him into. He'd fallen asleep in his room trying to think of how to make it up to her later. However, "meeting the parents" was 5-10 steps ahead of _anything_ he'd had planned!

Feeling that saying 'moving too fast' would be the death knell of their relationship, Connor said instead, "But isn't it a bad time to be springing this on them? Aren't your people currently on the verge of a civil war?"

"But that's what makes this the best time!" Megan said happily, "If we can show them how happy we are, that our differences shouldn't divide us but rather unite us, then maybe they'd forget such a silly thing as the difference in skin color and make peace with one another!"

Connor thought that was the most simple and naïve plan he'd ever heard. Once again choosing his words carefully, Connor said, "Look, Megan, I realize how much you want to make things right with your people, but I think we should wait for a bit. Maybe talk with the others, come up with a real plan…"

When Connor saw the flash of anger in Megan's eyes, he figured that she'd guessed what it was he wasn't saying. What he wasn't expecting, however, was the flash of light that appeared in her eyes; ir that his helmet, that he'd barely noticed he was wearing, would disappear. All of a sudden, Connor_ literally_ couldn't breathe, the atmosphere was too thin and too little oxygen was in it.

After what seemed like an eternity of his lungs burning, his helmet reappeared and he could breathe again. "Sorry!" 'Megan' apologized in what seemed like a sincere tone of voice, "I guess I should really watch my temper, huh?"

"Who….are you? Really?" Connor gasped.

"What are you talking about?" 'Megan' said, confused, "It's me, Megan!"

"Bull!" Connor retorted, still gasping but regaining his breath, "Even during the….worst of our fights, Megan….my Megan would never do what you've just done!"

"That's because she's _not_ the Megan you know," the voice of Green Lantern said from behind him. As Connor turned to look behind him and 'Megan' looked up, they saw descending towards them Hal Jordan, Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, and Zatanna, with Zatanna and Wonder Girl wearing rebreather masks and Zatanna riding in a bubble generated by Hal's ring. Hal then continues, "This is Star Sapphire, the result of an alien gem bonding to a host. This gives them power the equivalent to that of a Green Lantern, only focusing the power of love, rather than willpower, as a weapon. However, the gem also takes some form of control, greatly enhancing the love of its host and twisting it, resulting in some of the worst emotions that can result out of love gone wrong: suspicion, jealousy, anger, hatred."

Connor had heard enough. If this gem was the problem, then he'd just pry it off of her. No sooner had he this thought that Sapphire yelled, "No!" and he was hit with a mind blast that sent him tumbling away a couple of yards before he could regain control. She then rose several feet into the air and shielded herself in violet energy as she continued, "I will not be denied a host again!"

"Come on, Sapphire," Hal called out nonchalantly, "We've danced this dance before many times. You know how it ends."

_Of course!_ Connor thought as he remembered where he'd seen that gem, _Hal's fought against someone wearing this gem before, starting about a year before the Reach even came to Earth_!

Star Sapphire then laughed a chilling laugh as she said, "Are you comparing this one to that monomorphic female? While your Carol may have had a strong mind and an even stronger love than any host I've had before, her mind was too rigid and stiff, her imagination practically nonexistent! Nothing like my newest host! And while your Carol may have held hesitations about our killing you, just imagining all the different ways I could rend you limb from limb now…" Sapphire moans in pleasure before continuing, "…it makes me tingle all over!"

Star Sapphire then generates a giant nightmare beast, one that's virtually all tentacles and limbs, razor sharp teeth and claws, and holding all manner of different blades. The faces of everyone there fill with horror, though almost no one there can utter a word. Only Blue Beetle is able to find his voice, and his comment pretty much spoke for them all anyway: "iAi ma hijole!"

* * *

As sat in the uncomfortable chair in the prisoner's meeting room, his good arm handcuffed to the arm of the chair, Arsenal thought about how those in authority seemed to like making you wait. Of course, those who've been convicted of their crimes pretty much have nothing but time to wait, but he himself has yet to be formally charged in a court of law. Still, he figured that this was to be part of his penance as well.

He didn't think that his request today had any real chance of being approved, not as long as Luthor and his cronies had anything to say about it, not without him making compromises and/or betrayals we wasn't willing to make. Still, he had to try. To do otherwise was to give up and die, and above all else he was a survivor.

As the door opens and a man enters the room, Arsenal refrained from showing any emotional reaction, either irritation or relief. As the man sits down across from him, he introduces himself, "My name is Murray Dent, District Attorney. I understand that there's something you wished to discuss with me?"

'There is," Arsenal responded stoically, "I would like to discuss the possibility of a plea-bargain."

* * *

Back on Mars, the fight is not going well. Zatanna's first attempt at a spell had resulted in Star Sapphire creating a clamp over her mouth, and she was unable to remove it without first removing her rebreather mask and risk suffocating. The combined strengths of Superboy and Wonder Girl were unable to overcome Sapphire's creation and neither was able to get close enough to her to break through her shield and forcibly remove her gem. None of the weapon configurations or combinations Blue Beetle had tried had been able to disrupt Sapphire's creation or her ability to maintain it. Even Green Lantern's efforts proved to be in vain, as Sapphire simply adapted her monstrosity to compensate for the new threat Lantern's newest creation posed, often before it even finished forming.

The only reason their minds were not struck with the same horrors as their eyes was due to Manhunter's providing constant mental shielding, though from the strain on his face it was an effort he would not likely to be able to keep up for much longer.

After Connor tried for the third time to charge through and remove Sapphire's gem, she simply concentrated again and removed the headgear she'd placed on him in the first place, and Connor once found himself dying from asphyxiation.

"Connor!" Wonder Girl screamed as she rushed to his side and placed on him a spare rebreather mask she'd carried in anticipation. However, no sooner had the mask touched his face did Star Sapphire display the first emotion she'd shown since the battle began. As Sapphire screamed angrily, "Get away from him! He's _mine!_", she mind blasted Wonder Girl away and followed it up with a couple of slashing strikes from her beast, the latter which Cassie was barely able to deflect with her bracelets.

As he finished fixing the mask to his face, he flew quickly to catch Cassie as GL moved to block Sapphire's subsequent strikes with his latest creation. As Connor set her back on her feet, he asked, "Are you okay Cassie?"

Holding her head groggily, Wonder Girl replied, "I believe so. Say, Connor, if I ever get the idea to kiss you as a practical joke, would you please remind me not to?"

Glad to see that she was well enough to joke around, Connor chuckled and said, "I'll do my best." Then they rejoined the battle.

As the efforts of the group to save their friend from herself began to flag, a group of tall humanoid blue-skinned females emerge from a portal above the battle.

"I told you that this one would be strong!" insisted one.  
"Indeed, though her resistance to the Sapphire wasn't as strong as the human female's, her ability to use the gem to its fullest makes her a force to be reckoned with," agrees a second.  
"I find I must agree," say a third, "Although I still feel that the human's ability to resist the gem's impulses makes her the best choice for our queen, this Martian would serve well as her lieutenant."

"I thought you Zamarons were behind this!" Hal yelled as he flew up to confront the women, "When are you going to accept that the Guardians are right and stop sending these destructive gems?"

The first Zamaron who'd spoken retorted, "The Guardian's idea of saving the galaxy is that its defenders be as emotionless as they themselves are, that they only have will. But we feel that would only lead to its destruction."  
"We can feel that you have strong feelings of love for the one we've frequently chosen to champion our cause," the second Zamaron continued.  
The third Zamaron then asked Hal, "Would you give her up to commit fully to the Guardians' cause?"

As Hal glares at the alien women, Blue Beetle, who'd been using his sonic cannons to create a wall of sound, calls up frantically, "GL? A little help down here?!"

Hal then growls at the Zamarons, "We'll talk more later!" then flies back down to rejoin the battle.

As Hal takes over the job of shielding the others, the Scarab addresses Jamie,_ I assume that this opponent is also one you don't wish me to destroy?_

"Uh, yeah hermano!" Jamie replies, "Not vaporizing my mind-jacked amigos would be good!"

_Then might I suggest using a plasma beam set to low intensity and wide focus?_ Scarab suggested,_ This could potentially affect the Martian's weakness to fire, weakening her without outright destroying her._

"Alright, hombre! Now you're talking!" Blue Beetle exclaimed as he made the adjustments the Scarab suggested. Then he stepped around Lantern's barricade and fired his plasma cannons. The visible effect was immediately obvious as she started to sag, her attacks coming slower and becoming less powerful. "Oh, yeah!" Blue Beetle crowed, "If you can't take the heat, chica,_ then get out of our friend!_"

Then Sapphire generated a shield that protected her from the plasma blast, using a telekinetic blast to disable Beetle's cannons and having her creation redouble its attack on him, forcing Jaime to retreat back behind the barricade.

"Your girl has serious territorial issues, hermano," Jaime says to Connor, "You got any bright ideas?"

As he said that, a notion suddenly occurred to Connor. Before Sapphire could fully pick up on it, Connor quickly said, "Just one. You guys keep her busy!" before quickly flying off in the opposite direction.

"Connor!" Sapphire calls out, but the others redouble their attacks on her, preventing her from following.

* * *

As he flew around the planet, going as fast as he's ever gone before then pushing himself to go even faster, several thoughts occurred to him. First, whenever one of them attacked her, Sapphire was able to counter them easily. But while attacks that they thought about were countered almost before they began, attacks that began on a whim or that were advised to them by an inorganic source took her a few moments to be blocked. That indicated that Sapphire didn't have full access to Megan's abilities, meaning she's resisting.

Second, all of their attacks thus far have been from the front. Therefore, her defenses will most likely be strongest up front, and she would only spare energy to defend her back if she believes she needs to.

Finally, he recalled the day they first mind linked in Bialya, and how and why that occurred. If he could recreate that now…

As he completed his circumference of the planet, now breaking the sound barrier, Sapphire now felt him approaching from behind and started to reinforce the shielding back there.

But her reaction time was too slow, and her weak shields were no match for a speeding Superboy as he tore through them like tissue paper, then smashed his way through the shields she'd created at the start of the battle. As he slammed into Sapphire from behind, he wrapped his left arm around both of hers and clamped his right hand to her forehead as he yelled, "Megan, wake up!"

* * *

Almost as soon as he made contact, Connor found himself in an unusual landscape that he was quite familiar with: Megan's mind. A quick scan showed him where Megan was curled around her knees, looking rather distraught in the shadow of a giant incarnation of the Star Sapphire gem. As soon as she saw him, she rushed over to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders as she sobbed, "I'm sorry Connor, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I tried to stop myself but I couldn't…"

Connor interrupted her by placing a finger across her lips as he said, "It's okay, I know the feeling. And just as you helped me back then, I'm here to help you now."

"But I don't know what to do!" Megan wailed, "I've tried to stop it, but I don't know how!"

"You can't stop me, child!" the effeminate voice of the Sapphire interjected, "I am love incarnate, and I will save the universe with its power!"

"We will stop you, together!" Connor countered as he disentangled himself from Megan to fully face the Sapphire, then he turned his head towards Megan and offered his right hand to her as he continued, "…just like in Bialya."

Megan, picking up his cue, smiled and took his hand as she faced the Sapphire as well.

"What is this?" The Sapphire asked in disbelief and confusion.

"This is the true power of love, something you will never truly understand!" Megan announced with fierce determination, "We are stronger together than we could ever be apart, and you will get out of my head!"

With that last word, Megan unleashed a powerful psi-blast that sends the Sapphire spiraling into the distance screaming "Noooooooo!" Then it disappeared from sight and was gone.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the physical plane, neither Connor nor Megan/Star Sapphire hadn't moved an inch since Connor had wrapped her up from behind. With everyone remaining perfectly still in shock from the sudden lack of violence, Hal started to fly up to them before Manhunter caught him by the arm and whispered, "No, don't interrupt. Don't interfere."

A couple of seconds later and totally without warning, the Star Sapphire gem flew from Megan's abdomen towards the stratosphere as if it was shot from a cannon. Unfortunately, the second Zamaron happened to be directly in the gem's path and wound up being struck in the forehead by it, instantly being changed into a Star Sapphire herself. The both of them unprepared for the transformation, the Star Sapphire generated twin blades in her hands and started striking out blindly in feral rage around her, catching the first one with a fierce blow. As the third Zamaron grabbed both of her arms, she cried out, "Restrain her, my sisters!" As the other Zamarons grabbed their transformed and now wild sister from behind and started dragging her back, the third Zamaron gathered up the mortally wounded first and called out, "We must retreat! Back to Zamaron!" Then the Zamarons exited through the portal with their uncooperative sister in tow, and the portal closed behind them.

After a moment of stunned silence, during which Connor and Megan (whose uniform had reverted to normal) rejoined the others, Hal finally said, "Now that's what I call 'poetic justice'!"

"Indeed," Manhunter agreed.

"Well I'm rather tired for someone who had another driver at my wheel," Megan quipped, "So if everyone's fine with it, I'd like to return to my quarters at Watchtower to rest."

* * *

Later, back at the Watchtower briefing room, Batman greets the returning heroes, saying, "I see that you all made it back safely. Well done!"

Superboy steadily marched the distance of the hall until he was in Batman's face, then he growled angrily, "Yes, we all made it back safely, no thanks to you!"

Batman, in his usual stoic manner, said, "Is something the matter?"

"I heard from the others," Superboy replied through his teeth, "heard how you advocated that the others should 'stop' Megan!"

Batman explained stonily, "That option was only to be used as a last resort, in case…"

"It shouldn't even be an option or a resort!" Superboy interrupted, "At the League, we don't go sacrificing one of us just because the going gets difficult, we just try harder! That's why the League was founded in the first place, so that together we can solve problems and face dangerous situations that would be impossible for any one of us alone! Maybe Luthor and his group would give up one of their own to achieve their goals, but we don't!"

At that moment, before the argument can escalate any further, Mother Box, who'd been attached to a console in the far corner, came flying across the room and attached itself to Superboy's arm. Looking at it in stunned surprise, Connor listened in stunned surprise to her frantic beeps and dings. Finally, Connor said, "Yeah, you're right. Stopping the Light and their plans does come first. I'll drop this for now." Then Connor turned back towards Batman and said with firm conviction, "But once this crisis is over, I'll see to it that you are called to 'answer for your actions'!" And with that, Connor turned and marched out of the room.

As his footsteps receded down the hall, Batman remarked, "That boy will make a fine addition to the League one day soon."

* * *

Moments later, in Connor's room, Connor is sitting on his bed listening to Mother Box when there's a knock on the door and Megan pokes her head inside asking, "May I come in?"

Connor smiles slightly as he says, "Sure, I was just catching up with Sphere."

"Sphere?!" Megan says in hopeful surprise.

"Well, more like with her daughter, I suppose you'd say," Connor explained, "Mother Box was created by Sphere, so Sphere's a part of her. It's good to know that even if you lose someone, they're never truly gone."

"Yes…" Megan sniffed, tears filling her eyes, "…yes it is."

Mother Box then dinged and Connor said, "Huh? Oh right! Megan? Before our 3-way date with Sapphire began, I had been trying to figure out a way to make it up to you for blowing off your dinner invite: I hadn't been feeling up to it then, you see. Mother Box just suggested that I should just say 'I'm sorry', but that doesn't seem like it's enough to me."

"It is for now," Megan said, smiling and wiping her eyes, "It's enough for now."

Megan and Connor then embrace for almost a full minute before Megan starts and sits back up straight as she says, "I almost forgot the reason I came back here in the first place!" Her face adopting a solemn look, Megan clasps his hands in her lap as she says, "After you left, Batman had one more piece of news to share….about Arsenal." After a beat of silence, Megan continued, "His plea bargain request was declined, his trial's scheduled to begin the day after tomorrow."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Coast City, Carol Ferris heard a knock at her bedroom window. Considering that it's on the second story, the list Carol had of whom it could be was rather short, and the list of who it would likely be was even shorter. Rolling her eyes and smiling, she walked to the window in her over-large T-shirt and saw that she was right: Hal Jordan was hovering outside her window.

"So," Carol said after opening her window and leaning on her windowsill, "what brings you here this time of night?"

"Well, part of it was I was wanting to see if you're all right," Hal explained, "and to tell you that the Team and I had just finished putting the wraps on the whole Star Sapphire business: it'll likely be a long time before either of us see her, if we ever see her again, that is."

"Well that's good to hear," Carol said in relief, "and I'm doing fine too, but you said that was only part of why you're here?"

"Yes," Hal confirmed, "the other thing I wanted to tell you was that I'm not going to ask you out anymore."

Carol was in shock! She'd gotten so used to his frequently asking her if she wants to have dinner, or to go see a movie, that her reply that she doesn't date employees was now practically scripted at this point, and now suddenly he was quitting! Before she could ask him to clarify what that meant, Hal continued, "I've decided to wait instead. I'm going to wait until you tell me you're ready to take that next step."

Her heart beating again, Carol faked a yawn to disguise her wiping tears from her eyes as mere tiredness, then said, "It….could be a while, Hal."

"I don't mind, Carol, because I've decided that you're the one," Hal said amiably, "I'm willing to wait for as long as it takes."

Carol had absolutely no idea as to what to say to that. After a moment of silence, Hal said, "Well, good night, Carol. I'll see you tomorrow." Then he flew off into the night sky.

* * *

That same evening, in a hospital in Central City, Iris West-Allen looked with affection at her husband Barry, who was sound asleep in the chair that he'd refused to budge from all day. Chuckling softly in exasperation, she gently got up her bed, being careful to not jostle anything, took one blanket from her bed and draped it over her husband's sleeping form. She then gently kissed him on the forehead and said, "Sweet dreams, my loveable knucklehead."

* * *

Elsewhere, in deep space, the Zamaron who had been turned into a Star Sapphire is lying on a reclined surface with her eyes closed, no gem apparent anywhere on her body, as her sisters bring a sheet up over her body to cover her face. Next to her is another similarly draped form, also apparently showing no signs of life.

One of the Zamarons, who is holding the Sapphire gem that had been extracted mere moments ago, says to the others, "It appears, my sisters, that the Lantern from Earth may have a point. The Star Sapphire gem is too wild, too unrefined. Its power too uncontrollable."

"But without them, we'll have nothing to push back the darkness with!" one of the others protests, "What else would you suggest we do?"

"We may have more to learn from our brothers the Guardians than we've realized," the first Zamaron replies while looking on the gem, "Perhaps it's time we took a page out of their book for our own use."

She then crushes the gem in her hand, then when she opens it, among tiny shards of gem lies a violet ring.

"Recall all the gems throughout the universe and begin construction of a central battery," The Zamaron instructs her sisters, "It's time we started recruiting our own Corps."

* * *

As she lied awake in bed, Artemis couldn't decide whether to be happy that Wally was being so understanding or to be angry with him for not keeping his mouth shut. Earlier she had been set on her course of action, decided that she was going to retire from hero work and let Wally wear the spandex pants around the house. Now, however, she was more confused than ever.

Wally did have a point about the Rogues and the Light being in a different league than the crooks they faced tonight. What if she did retire, and Wally ended up killed because she wasn't there? Would she be able to live through losing Wally twice, especially if the second time was her fault?

Deciding that she would be better able to think these things through after she was rested, she finally let herself drift off to sleep.

A couple hours later, Artemis woke up screaming.

End of chapter.


	6. 6) Quietus

**Quietus**

In the dining area of watchtower's Kitchen, an enormous cake is sitting in the middle of a large circular table, with various members of the League and the Team standing around it and Wally at its head, wearing civilian attire and a party hat.

"Welcome back, Wally!" everyone joyously yells.

"Well, I don't know if I'm 'back' back," Wally says with a smile, "I mean, it's great that I'm faster now and everything, but…"

"Relax, okay?" Superboy says with a knowing smile, "We're merely welcoming you back to the land of the living, you can take your time deciding about the Team."

"Although it'd be cool if you did decide to come back!" Bart said excitedly, "Hey, how about a race? Loser has to wear the Impulse costume next 3 missions!"

Wally chuckles as he says, "Maybe later, Bart."

Nightwing smiles as he says, "If you wanted to go back to a quiet life back at college, then we won't hold it against you. You've certainly earned that much, at least."

Barry continues, "Yeah, anyone who gives everything to save the world from an invasion of hostile aliens has certainly earned an early retirement."

Jaime Reyes, also in civilian attire, "Yeah, amigo. We just didn't get a chance to celebrate your return before, with your mom practically kidnapping you all day yesterday and the night before, so we're doing it now."

Wally chuckled and said, "My mom practically force-fed me the contents of every grocery store in town, and the next one over. If Artemis hadn't assured her that she wouldn't let me out of her sight, I don't think she would've let me leave today."

"And I mean to keep that promise, mister," Artemis, who's in civilian clothes as well, loops her arm around Wally's and smiles as she continues, "I'm not about to let you leave my side anytime soon."

At that moment, a black void-like portal opens near the rear wall with the force of a bomb, causing everyone else except Artemis and Wally to be thrown against the walls and knocked unconscious. Artemis would have been blasted against the walls too, except Wally had used his newfound ability to reduce the kinetic force directed at them.

His efforts proved pointless, however, as a black arm emerged from the portal (or was it formed from the portal? As the arm and the portal are the same shade it's difficult to tell) and grabbed Artemis from behind and tore her from his grip. As it threw her against the far wall with enough force to stun her, though she remained conscious, the rest of the figure appeared from the portal. Humanoid in appearance, the creature was obsidian from head to toe. Though the creature was nightmarish to behold, what Artemis found truly horrifying was that protruding from its head was a pair of horns that disturbingly resembled the wing-like decorations borne on the headgears of Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and, most especially, Wally West.

As if to confirm her fears, the creature then grabbed Wally by the neck and pinned him to the table as it said, in a voice like broken lightning, "uNfortunately you cannOt keep that prOmise. No onE Can outrun deAth, my dear, Not even the faStest mAn aliVe, wally wEst."

As she watched, black lightning leapt from the creature to Wally, and Wally's struggles grew weaker as he was apparently drained of life and energy, appearing to age from young adult to geriatric old man within seconds.

"Noooo!" Artemis cried as she watched, unable to do anything about it.

* * *

Artemis sat bolt upright in bed, screaming. It was a couple of moments before she remembered where she was: In her bedroom at the house she and Wally had got together in Palto Alto. Hugging around her knees, she chanted to herself,_ It's just a dream, it's just a dream, it's just a dream…_

A few seconds later (which was slow for him, he must have been fast asleep), Wally came running in from the adjoining bedroom (the compromise to their parents' objection to their living together before marriage) and asked, "What is it, Artemis?"

Artemis tried to calm herself and catch her breath, her face covered in a cold sweat. Finally, she managed to pant, "It's….nothing. Bad dream."

Wally ponded himself in the head as he cursed under his breath, then he said aloud, "I'm so sorry, Art! I'm such a chowderhead! I didn't even think that what I'd said to you would…"

"That's not it," Artemis objected as she placed her hands on Wally's shoulders, "Maybe what you said triggered it, but what I saw….Wally, I've never seen anything at terrible as that! Ever!"

"What was it?" Wally asked, concerned.

Artemis wrapped him in a tight embrace of one needing comfort and, body trembling and eyes streaming tears, said with a shaky voice, "Death! Wally, it said it was Death!"

* * *

Later that morning, as the sun started to rise in Central City, an obsidian portal manifested in a darkened alleyway. Emerging from said portal is the very same entity Artemis saw in her nightmare. An emaciated, horrific creature that seemed to radiate shadow, it raised its heat towards the sky and yelled in its crackly voice, "wWeeEsStT!"

* * *

In the kitchen of Joan and Jay Garrick in Keystone City, the couple set the last bags of a massive amount of groceries on the remaining free spaces of the counter and kitchen table.

"Is that everything?" Jay says, heaving a sigh and popping his back.

"Everything but the perishables," Joan replied, "I'll wait until it gets a little closer to Thanksgiving to get those."

"You know, you'd think that we were getting ready to feed the entire League and the JSA this year!" Jay quipped playfully.

"Oh Jay, stop!" Joan said with a laugh in her voice as she lightly punched Jay in the arm, "You know that I know how you boys eat, and if everyone accepts their invitations next week then this, plus the rest, will barely be enough." As she threads her arm through Jay's elbow and leads him out of the kitchen, Joan asks, "Do you think that Iris will be out of the hospital by then? It sure would be nice if she and Barry could come, and I'd love to see the new little darlings."

"Well, her C-section is scheduled for today," Jay answered as they crossed the dining area into the living room, "so I see no reason that…"

The front door to their home exploded inward with the sound similar to that of a shotgun blast and a thunder strike combined, the shockwave knocking both Jay and Joan back towards the kitchen door. Once Jay got his bearings and the dust cleared, he squinted towards the door and for a moment his heart stopped. _How can that thing be here?_ Jay thought fearfully, _Why has it come **now**?_

"Jay, what is that thing?!" Joan's tremulous voice asked, her eyes wide with fright as she gazed upon their attacker.

"Something I thought I would not see for at least a few more years," Jay responded, "and that I never thought you would ever see. Get back in the kitchen, quick!"

"you neeD not fEar, jAy garrick," the demonic figure assured him in its crackly voice, "i have no inTerest in tHe woman, nor have I come for you thiS day. I traced the trail of the life eNergies of wally wEst to this plAce. it is he who i came heRe To cOllect this DAY."

"The devil you are!" Jay yells as he launches himself into an attack at the creature, who easily parries and pins him across the back of the couch.

"Not 'devil'," the figure cOunters, "you know what I am. i woulD rather not take you befOre your time, but the loNger I'm here in this plane the greater my need tO feed grows. Tell me wheRe to find wally wEst So i may collect him quickly, and i'll leave you in peace unTil then."

Jay Garrick laughs derisively and responds, "You think that a little death threat is going to scare me? Son, I'm old, and I've lived a full life. But the kid, he's barely begun to live his. So if you want to take me go right ahead, but as far as Wally is concerned you can just go to Hell."

The creature snarls and says, "I Do nOt kNow of this "hell" yOu are referring To, perhapS Then yOu can Point the way?"

The figure then starts to drain Jay Garrick of his energy as he screams in pain and Joan cries out in despair, "Jay!"

* * *

As Wally raced through the streets of Keystone, he wondered if he did the right thing. He'd stayed with Artemis until she'd fallen back asleep and he was sure that she would not be woken up again by her nightmare, but the thing she'd described had stuck a chord in him that couldn't be explained or denied.

After leaving her a note explaining where he went, in the event she woke up before he'd returned, Wally headed off to Jay's place. Wally was certain he'd never seen what Artemis said she saw in her dream, but he still felt he had known it at some point. And as Jay Garrick was the oldest out of the Speedsters he knew of, perhaps he could tell him if it means anything.

As he reached the Garricks' home, Wally immediately knew that something was wrong. If the obliterated front door wasn't clue enough, the fearful screams of Joan Garrick would have given it away. Wally raced inside to find something leaning over Jay, doing something that was either hurting or killing him, or both. Without missing a beat, Wally hit the creature with a high-speed ramming strike with both fists that sent it crashing through the dining room table then through the wall that separated it from the kitchen. As he helped Jay stand back up, Wally asked him, "Are you all right?"

As Jay groaned, he replied, "I've felt better, but I'll live."

As Wally used his speed sharing technique he recently discovered he had to restore some of Jay's lost energy, he saw through the hole in the wall the creature start to rise again and Wally felt a thrill of fear. This creature looked exactly like Artemis had described from her dream, and though he could not remember when, Wally felt as though he'd seen it before!

Once Jay looked strong enough, Wally said to him, "Get Joan up to Watchtower!"

Jay nodded, then scooped up Joan in a bridal carry. He then said quickly, "Be careful now, he's deadly, and you're the one he's after."

"Heh, figures," Wally said with a forced flippantness, "Go!"

Jay then nods and takes off as the demon flies towards Wally screeching, "wWweeESsstTt!"

As it digs its claw-like fingers into Wally's arms, the pain he felt was like nothing he'd ever remembered feeling, and yet the pain was also familiar to him. Wally then shrugged the creature off of him, following it up with a series of super-speed haymakers and one roundhouse to knock it away.

Immediately afterwards he nearly collapsed from the pain the blows caused in his arms and legs, as it they'd been close to breaking. It wasn't as if the mysterious being was as tough as Superman, rather like his own bones had become old and brittle, like he'd been aged close to Jay's age. Removing one glove, his hand didn't look any older, and he already was feeling the effects of the accelerated healing that the Speed Force afforded him.

As the creature started to rise again, Wally came to the conclusion that staying to fight this thing without knowing what it was he was facing would be tantamount to suicide, and Wally was not eager to return to the Speed Force yet. Feeling that Jay had enough of a head start, Wally taunted, "Okay, so you can take a hit. Now let's see how fast you can run!"

Wally then took off out of the house, with the creature giving chase, just as the lights and sirens of police cruisers turned around the corner towards the assaulted residence.

* * *

Back in Palto Alto, Artemis woke up groggily. Her head hurt from her earlier unpleasant awakening, and she was glad that she hadn't had an encore performance: being traumatized like that once in a month is more than enough. As she turned towards where Wally had sat by her as she fell back asleep, she saw the note lying on her bed. Reading it, she saw that it said that he was going down to the Garricks' and that he hoped to be back before she woke up. Re-reading it, she saw no explanation as to why he was going there or why he couldn't wait for until she woke up.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she dialed the number for Jay's house phone. She was surprised that after the 5th ring a policeman picked up the phone. She listened with a sense of dread as he explained the house appeared to have been attacked but wouldn't give her any details. At his prompt, Artemis assured him that she didn't know anything about what happened as she was half the country away, that she was a friend of the family and if she hears anything new she'd let them know right away.

Her heart hammering as she hung up the phone, she dialed another number, one for a cell phone she'd persuaded Joan Garrick to carry around with her "just in case". She felt the beginnings of relief as Joan herself answered after only two rings. "Joan," Artemis gasped, "thank goodness you're okay!" Then Artemis' relief fell from her like rain and was replaced by fear and full-blown panic as she listened to what Joan was saying.

* * *

As Wally raced through the streets from Keystone to Central City and back again, Wally could hardly believe that this thing was still with him! Not only was it keeping pace, but it was slowly gaining, and Wally couldn't go any faster without breaking certain barriers that he'd rather not cross just now. Besides, the fight earlier had taken quite a bit out of him. So fighting it head on was out, and out-running it was no good either, but maybe he could go someplace where it could not follow.

Making a hairpin turn to hopefully make his shadow miss a step, Wally accessed his wrist-bound communicator and said, "This is Wally West requesting emergency access through Zeta Tube JG13, authorization code: JL27"

The electronic female voice emerging from his communicator confirmed, "Code recognized, voiceprint verification confirmed, access granted."

As a construction site for Garrick Laboratories, Inc. came into view, Wally braced himself, promising himself to help Jay fix it later. Then he vibrated through the surrounding fence and listened with grim satisfaction as the fence exploded behind him and the creature howled in pain as it was caught in the blast. Then he raced for a large cement tube section that Wally knew was actually a disguised Zeta Tube that was used by the League to transport their vehicles. Then he raced through and was teleported away, the tube shutting down just as the creature reaches it. A disembodied voice is heard saying, "Scanning: unknown entity. Access denied."

Unheard by Wally, the creature unleashed in its rage a screeching howl that was unlike anything heard within a few hundred light-years from Earth.

* * *

Up at Watchtower, Wally's exit from the Zeta Tube was less then graceful as he stumbled then tumbled head over heels until he hit the opposite wall. Wally then heard the calm voice of Joan Garrick as she talked on her cell, saying, "Actually, he just got up here, and other than some scrapes from a very recent attempt at some tumbling exercises he seems just fine! Okay, I understand, we'll see you up here shortly! Okay, bye dear!"

Turning, he saw that Joan and Jay had made up here okay. He was about to ask them what it was that he'd just faced when he heard behind him Batman ask, "What happened?"

Wally really had to bite his tongue to stop himself from making a withering retort. He'd only heard this morning from Connor about his adventure with Megan and Star Sapphire, as well as Batman's proposed "solution". It was little more then 6 years ago that he had a crush on Megan. Of course he'd moved on since then, entered a true and fulfilling relationship with Artemis, but Megan was still one of his best friends as was Connor, and for Batman to suggest what he had…

Wally wasn't sure how Batman had managed to remain in one piece, short of using Kryptonite. All Wally knew was that it Batman had done something like this 6 years ago, Wally would have run him out to the middle of the Atlantic and then returned without him. As it was, he was sure that he'd be among those who, once the Light has been dealt with, would be leading the charge to having Batman disbarred from the League.

As if to save Wally the trouble of finding something civil to say, Joan said, "Just one moment, Artemis is on her way up. It'll be best if we all get caught up to speed at the same time."

As she says this, Watchtower's computer announces, "Recognizing: Tigress, B07"

As Artemis steps from the Zeta Tube, she goes over to Jay and Joan and says, "Are you guys okay?"

Joan smiled and said, "A little shaken up, dear, but we're both just fine thanks to Wally showing up when he had."

Artemis smiled at Jay and his wife, then turned to glare daggers at Wally. _Uh-Oh_, Wally thought as Artemis barked, "And you! What were you _doing_ going after that thing alone? After what I told you I've seen, what were you_ thinking!?_"

"Um, I was thinking I was just going to talk to the Garricks about some things, including your dream," Wally defended, "that I wasn't thinking that I'd encounter your nightmare in the flesh at their place, that I didn't have time to get help before it killed Jay, that…"

Jay interrupted him with a chuckle, saying, "Forget it, son, you're not going to win this one. Only thing you can do is nod vigorously and say repeatedly, 'You're right, I'm sorry.' "

As Artemis and Joan turn to glare at Jay, Batman says, "Now that this moment of levity is over, can we discuss what is going on?"

"Yeah, do you know what that thing I faced tonight was, Jay?" Wally asks.

A Bart enters the room to see what's going on, all eyes turn to Jay as he begins, "It's been known by many names throughout the years, but more recently we've taken to calling it the Black Flash. To put it in simplest terms, it serves as the Grim Reaper to all speedsters."

At this revelation, Artemis' face pales as Jay continues, "He serves to take those of us who ride the lightning when we reach the end of our run. I myself have seen it a number of times when I was stuck in some deathtrap, but it's always only existed just on the fringe of our reality. It's never manifested so strongly on this plane that someone who's not a speedster was capable of seeing it, and I'm guessing you're the reason why, Wally. You've done something that no speedster in recorded history has done before; you returned from the Speed Force. Apparently the Black Flash wants you back pretty bad."

"But why did it attack you, Grandpa Jay?" Bart asked.

"Not sure," Jay admitted, "But I'm guessing that when we siphoned off some of Wally's excess Speed Force energy, we'd confused the senses that the Black Flash uses to track the speedsters that it takes back to the Speed Force. It exists by consuming the Speed Force energy, but that is not as accessible in this plane except through those of us who use it."

"So how do we stop it?" asked Batman.

"You don't understand," explained Jay, "There may be no stopping it. It's not some supervillain that can be disarmed or overwhelmed, not some alien invader that can be turned away of have its weapons tuned against it. It doesn't merely think that it's death incarnate, it _is_ Death."

Batman then asked, "Then what do…?"

Before the question could be asked, Bart collapsed in pain. As everyone rushed over, Wally asked, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know!" Bart replied, then he looked at his arm, which was flickering between translucent and opaque. As they watched, the effect quickly spread through his entire body. Bart, his voice becoming tinny and hard to hear, said quickly, "Wally, I think that something is happening to Grandm…"

Then Bart disappeared and was gone.

After a stunned moment passed between them, Wally looked up suddenly and said, "The hospital!"

Then Wally raced to the Zeta Tubes and returned to Earth.

* * *

"Father!" Jessie Quick sobbed, tears streaming down her face as she sank to her knees on the hospital floor.

The Black Flash, holding Johnny Quick's empty uniform, said, "he should have beeN mOre cooperative," as he dropped it into the pile of ash at his feet. He then started to walk over to Jessie Quick as, extending his hand towards her, he asked, "hoW About you? will You tell me how To get tO where wally West Is hidiNg?"

Barry Allen, who'd been standing guard over his wife Iris, ran over and said, "You stay away from her!"

Before Barry could get close enough to do anything, the Black Flash spun and lifted him by the neck and started to drain him of his energy as he said, "The stubborn attitude of you speedsters is getting to be rather troublesome!"

"Barry! Nooo!" Iris said, lunging up from her bed, then she screamed in pain as she clutched her abdomen.

"What is this unusuAl deLectabLe aroma?" Black Flash asked as he dropped a weakened Barry to the floor and turned and walked towards Iris, who cringed back into her bed, "such Young speed, so close to life and to deatH At the Same time, yet having noT yet knOwn either? I've never experienceD anything like It beforE!"

"Noooo!" Iris moaned fearfully from her bed.

Barry, struggling to get back up, groans from the floor, "Don't!"

As Black flash comes close to touching Iris's swollen belly, Wally suddenly appears in the doorway and calls out, "Hey, slowpoke!" When Black Flash turns and growls at him, Wally taunts, "You want me, come and get me!" Once Black Flash started towards him, Wally turns and races through the halls, out the main doors, past the arriving League and Team members, and back into the streets of Central City, the Black Flash following closely behind.

* * *

As they continued the race, Wally thought to himself, I've got him after me, so now what? Is there anyway to beat this guy? Any way to render him inert, any place that can hold him for any length of time?

As he had that thought, a wild idea suddenly struck him. All he needed to was to run faster than he ever ran before….and make sure this glutton kept chasing him.

* * *

As Artemis exited the Central City Zeta Tube, she saw the red streak of the Flash, followed by the black streak of the entity that wanted to kill him. "Wally!" she called out, "Nooooo!" But they vanished from view, and the earth entirely, before the words were even out of her mouth,

* * *

Back at the hospital, Barry managed to get back on his feet as the doctors rushed into Iris' room. Checking the monitoring equipment, one of the doctors announced, "The infants' vitals are falling rapidly, we need to get her into the operating room STAT! Otherwise, we may lose all three of them!"

* * *

As Wally had went from beyond the speed of sound to approaching the speed of light, he had not known what exactly he would be seeing, but as he broke through the time barrier it looked as if the world had went from being on pause to going into fast forward.

Even though logically it should have been an incomprehensible blur to him, Wally was still able to catch snippets from the future history he was speeding by: Aqualad shaking hands with some African-American guy who was obviously a cyborg. The League and the team fighting along side….was that Mercy from Lexcorp!? What in the…!?

He saw Warworld turn its full arsenal on Apokalypse, forcing it to retreat through a giant Boom-Tube just as some sort of retaliatory blast strikes Warworld, causing it to explode. He saw as the police escorted a handcuffed Luthor from the UN building, where Mercy was holding open the rear door of a police car as if it was merely the door to his limo, and Luthor glared at her.

* * *

Back at the hospital, Iris is lying on an operating table as the doctors have finished applying some sort of cream on her exposed belly and injected something in the same area with a small needle.

"Okay Iris," one of the doctors explained, "we've applied a topical and a deep-tissue anesthetic. You shouldn't feel any pain, but you'll be awake through the entire procedure. It's safer for you and the children that way. Are you ready?"

Even though she was clearly nervous, Iris nodded her head and said with a determined, unwavering voice, "Do it."

"Okay then," the doctor said as he picked up the scalpel, "I'm now making the first incision."

* * *

As Wally continued to race through the time stream, the Black Flash still close behind and getting closer, Wally saw still more scenes from events that have yet to happen: The day he gets married to Artemis, with Connor as his best man, Megan their Maid of Honor, and a pair of fraternal twins Wally had never seen before serving as their Ring Bearer and Flower Girl.

* * *

Back at the hospital, the Doctor lifts one squalling infant from inside the incision in Iris' abdomen and announces. "It's a girl!"

Iris, choked up with emotion says, "Dawn!"

* * *

Wally then saw the day those twins get married in a double ceremony, then later as the female twin gives birth to a baby girl, while the wife of the male twin gives birth to a baby boy bearing a familiar shock of brown hair.

* * *

In the operating room, the doctor lifts the second child from Iris womb and announced, "It's a boy!"

Iris, tears streaming down her face, croaks out, "Don!"

* * *

Back at Watchtower, unobserved by anyone, Bart Allen snapped back into existence gasping for breath. Looking up, Bart says simply, "Wally," before racing off towards the Boom Tubes.

* * *

As Wally raced on, he saw in what he figured was probably the 30th century that Earth was now populated by all kinds of different alien species, living openly amongst humans. He saw a team of heroes (including the daughter of the female twin, though how she was that young that far in the future Wally had no idea) form to keep the peace against outside threats, as well as from small groups of humans dissenters. He saw a green-skinned member of the new league kissing….was that Kara!? How could Kara be in the 30th century if she's currently residing in the 20th?

As Wally felt the fingers ot the Black Flash brush his neck, he decided that the time for sight seeing was over. Pushing himself to run even faster, Wally shut out all the images flying by him, focusing only on their destination. As he felt the Black Flash closing on him once again, Wally abruptly performed a U-turn, using his technique to add some extra speed to the Black Flash's momentum as Wally quipped, "This is my stop!"

Unable to stop himself in time, the Black Flash flew off the end of the time stream into what was literally the End of Time. Finding himself unable to return to the time stream, The Black Flash was consumed by the Entropy, for at the end of everything Death has no meaning.

Back in the time stream, however, Wally was not much better off. Rather exhausted from his frantic run, he was finding it difficult to gain the speed he needed to break free from the pull that the Entropy had on him even from here. Just when Wally thought his legs were going to give out, Bart showed up and started pulling him back away from Black Flash's final resting place.

Finding his second wind, Wally raced alongside Bart towards the 20th century and home. As Bart Smirked at Wally, he asked, "Admit it, cousin, what would you do without me?"

Answering Bart's smirk with one of his own, Wally responded, "I'm sure I'll think of something."

As they got even closer to where they entered from, Bart added with a smile, "That's good to hear, 'cause this is my stop."

"What?" Wally asked in disbelief, "But home is still a little ways further!"

"_Your_ home is," Bart countered, "but I've been away from mine for far too long now. Don't get me wrong, it's been crash hanging with you guys, but I really want to see Mom and Dad again, and I feel that I can now since the Reach are gone."

As Wally looks on Bart with an understanding sadness, Bart continues, "Don't worry, I'll be sure to come back to visit, now that I know how. Then I can tell you how many grey hairs you've gotten from your own kids!"

As Wally chuckles, he ruffles Bart's hair and says, "Deal!" Then he races on as Bart stops running and allows himself to drop back out of the time stream.

* * *

It is night when Wally exits out of the time stream and rejoins the physical world. As it is pitch black where he has landed, it takes his eyes a few seconds to adjust before he can see that he emerged in the living room of his and Artemis' home in Palto Alto.

It only takes a second to spot Artemis lying asleep in the armchair. Dressed in her Tigress outfit, clutching her sword in her hand, it looked like she'd been patrolling the streets until a little while ago, when she'd come back to rest and ended up falling asleep.

Wally thought about how this is the second time he'd come back from the brink, how when he'd returned he'd found himself next to her. Combined with what he saw in his trip through time, Wally was convinced he'd made the right choice when he chose Artemis as the one. Perhaps Kent Nelson had known all along who would be the right one for Wally; "spitfire" was the perfect description of Artemis, and she certainly didn't let him get away with anything.

Planning to pick Artemis up and carry her to her bed, Wally started forward towards her. However, when the shifting of his weight caused the floorboards to creak, Artemis sprang awake and swung her sword in an arc that would have taken off Wally's head had she not stopped it in time.

"Wally," Artemis said in shock as she dropped her sword clattering to the floor, "It is really you? Are you really back?"

"It's me," Wally gently confirmed, unable to identify the emotion taking place behind her eyes, "I'm back."

"And you're really okay?" Artemis said in the same still voice that betrayed no emotion.

"I'm a bit tired from my run, but other than that I'm just fine," Wally confirmed, "And we won't have to worry about the Black Flash for a long while now, if ever again."

"Well, that's good," Artemis said as she dropped her gaze for a second.

Then she slapped him across the face.

Now it was Wally's turn to be shocked. Of all the possible homecoming welcomes he'd envisioned, this was not among them. Before he could find a way to give voice to the confusion rolling through his head, Angry tears started rolling down Artemis' face as she shouted in a tremulous voice, "Wallace Rudolph West, don't you _ever_ do that to me _again!_"

As Wally rocked back on his heels, Artemis' tirade continued, "When I saw that thing chasing you before you both disappeared, I had no idea of what happened! For all I knew, it had taken you from me for good this time! The others wanted to have you declared legally dead, but I wouldn't let them! Holding onto what little hope that you were still alive somehow was the only thing that kept me from falling totally apart! But I didn't know, and you weren't here, and I was so lost and alone…"

Now understanding what emotions she'd been trying to keep bottled up, Wally slowly walked over to her and wrapped her in a gentle embrace, upon which she buried her face in his shoulder and cried hysterically as he murmured in her hair "I'm so sorry" over and over again.

Once Artemis managed to hiccup herself into silence, Wally asked her, "Feeling a little better now?"

"A little," Artemis admitted, "there's just one more thing that I'd like to get off my chest though."

With a sympathetic smile, Wally said, "Go ahead."

"I know that you can't anticipate every deathtrap set for you or be aware of every assassination plot headed your way," Artemis explained, "But if you ever have to go on one of your runs knowing full well that the possibility's high that you won't return from it, take me with you! Because I'd rather spend my last moments fighting against the fires of Hades by your side, than to live forever alone in the purgatory of not knowing if I'll ever see you again."

Wally smiled and nodded, saying, "For better or worse."

Artemis then sniffed and nodded, smiling. Wally then stretched and said, "Well, racing Death to the end of time and back has me pretty knackered, so why don't I get us something to eat before we go to bed, then tomorrow we can go see Aunt Iris and the newborns in the hospital?"

"Uh, Wally?" Artemis said hesitantly, "Iris and the kids have been out of the hospital for a while now."

Wally thought about what she'd said for a moment before saying, "You said before that the others wanted to declare me legally dead. How long was I gone?"

"Almost a week, now," Artemis answered in a small voice, "It's now 12:24 am of November 24th. Arsenal's trial ended yesterday. He's been convicted on all counts and sentenced to 26 years in Belle Reve."

* * *

Later that morning up at Watchtower, Batman (who is gaining more unfriendly glances than he used to) is addressing everyone in the mission briefing room.

"I'm aware that many of you have families you'd like to be with this morning," Batman began, "and that many of you don't particularly want to be in my presence, especially today of all days, so I'll make this brief. First I'd like to welcome back Wally West, who's surprised us once again with his ability to literally slip out of Death's clutches."

This announcement is met by a rigorous applause as his friends pound his back or ruffle his hair or simply try to touch some part of him that's not caught up in the group hug composed of Artemis, Jay and Joan Garrick, Barry Allen and his wife Iris, who is cradling both of her newborns.

"While this is pleasant news, unfortunately there are other not so pleasant things that Wally needs to be caught up on. The attack on the Garricks' home is not something that is easily explained, and the fact is that the authorities had witnessed the Flash speeding away from the scene."

Artemis angrily turned on Batman and barked, "If you're about to suggest that Wally turn himself in to 'answer to the charges against him'…!"

"I'm not, for several reasons," Batman interrupted, "For one: there are no charges to answer to, as the Garricks refused to press any and, in fact, insisted that the Flash had not attacked them but actually saved them. However, they were not able to clearly explain what he'd saved them from, for obvious reasons, and the press, specifically Godfrey, is eating that up. Secondly: even if there had been charges leveled against Wally, the chances of his getting a fair trial right now are virtually non-existent, and Godfrey would use his conviction to try and further swing the public's opinion towards having the Vigilante Registration Act ratified, both of which were recently proven with Arsenal's situation. The simple fact is that if we're to have a chance of being able to stop the Light's plans, then we need to defeat the VRA, hopefully before it can possibly be put into effect."

"But in the other world," Superboy protested, "it took the campaigning of Senator Martha Kent and the cyber hacking skills of Chloe Sullivan to defeat the VRA. While we do have Mrs. Kent in this world, she isn't a senator here, and I haven't found any record of a Chloe Sullivan here at all."

"While I may not be a US senator or a uber-hacker like this Ms. Sullivan you mentioned," a voice behind them interjected, "but I wouldn't underestimate the power of positive and responsible journalism."

Lois Lane, leaning against the briefing room's doorframe, crosses her arms and smiles as she says, "After all, that is why you invited me up to your clubhouse, right?"

Superman smiled a small smile and Batman nodded as he concluded, "And finally the matter of Bart Allen. While I'm sure that many of us are glad to hear that his existence was restored with the birth of his future father, we'll all miss him now that he's decided to return to his own time. Although his decision was ill timed, it is nonetheless understandable."

"I just hope he's okay," fretted Joan.

"I wouldn't worry about him too much," Barry comforted her, "Knowing that kid, he's probably having fun hanging with his friends and driving his parents up the wall!"

* * *

In Happy Harbor in the year 2056, Bart was _not_ having fun. At first he'd thought that he'd misjudged the stopping point & that he'd ended up in the wrong year. However, after coming across a few faces that were almost familiar, he'd scratched off that notion. He'd returned to the right year, just not to the bright future he'd hoped to see. When he'd left, the Earth was a burnt-out shell of its former self. How, it was Hell. Blazing fire pits dotted the surface. People shuffled along in chain gangs, their spirits broken. And scattered across the skies as far as he could see flew demons with high tech armor.

Bart had thought that the others would be able to stop the Light's plans, and that his continued presence would only cause a paradox that would undo any of the good work they'd fought for. That was apparently not the case, so he'll have to put off returning home for now.

Bart was about to start running to try and reenter the time stream when he felt a savage blow to the back of his head. Staggering around, his vision growing blurry and dark, he saw a parademon with a bloody mace and the ghoulish smiling face of Desaad who, as Bart was passing out, gleefully greeted him, "Bartholomew Allen, welcome home!"

End of chapter


	7. 7) Trapped

**Trapped**

Arsenal took stock of his surroundings, noted the varying looks of the people around him: Some looked angry to see him, while others looked pleased, and then there were those who looked like they didn't care one way or the other about him. Of the three main groups, he hoped he'd be roomed with someone from the third, for those from the first were likely to want to kill him, as were the second.

Of course with the Light's puppet in charge of this facility, he'd likely be roomed with someone from groups one or two, and even if they didn't manage to kill him, then his "misbehaviors" would likely result in his sentence being extended. Unless the League managed to thwart the light's plans and expose the corrupt elements that landed him in here in the first place, Arsenal realized he could look forward to being stuck here fighting for his life until the day he died.

Has he was escorted to the wing that would likely be his home for the next couple of decades, Arsenal thought back to the moment when he could have avoided being sent here, though at a cost:

* * *

Back at the police station, the DA was pacing back and forth pinching his nose in frustration. "Let me get this straight," DA Murray Dent was saying, "You want to enter a bargain in which you'd plead guilty to lesser charges, and you'd get a lighter sentence and not be sent to Belle Reve, but you have nothing to offer in return? No names of criminal accomplices, no state evidence to turn in, nothing?"

"I had a glimmer of hope that possibly the fact that I turned myself in, and that I'm willing to cooperate and waste less of the taxpayers' money, would be enough," Arsenal answered, "But I guess that in this current political climate even that would be a little much to hope for."

"Just what do you mean by that?" the DA said, sounding offended.

Arsenal explained simply, "I'm referring to the fact that, as I'm not exactly a criminal but rather a man who made a costly mistake, the closest thing that I have to a 'criminal accomplice' is Lex Luthor."

Dent stared at Arsenal in disbelief as he said, "You're naming…Secretary General Lex Luthor…as an accomplice?"

"For all the good it'll do," Arsenal replied, "He was the one that I got my sidearm from, and despite what the public may currently think, he is, in fact, one of the worst criminals out there, and I'm not talking in the general 'all politicians are criminals' way, either."

As Dent starts to speak, Arsenal holds up his handless arm and says, "Don't bother asking if I have any proof or corroborative witnesses to his criminal activity: he's been very careful to not leave any thus far, but it's only a matter of time till he slips up and ends up in jail where he belongs."

"And this weapon, you wouldn't happen to be able to tell us where it is, would you?" Dent asks.

"It got destroyed on my last mission," Arsenal said, "I can't say that I'll miss it, considering it came from the very person who took my arm and 8 years of my life, and I was able to use it to help save a friend's life, so it was a sacrifice I would gladly make again."

"So, you've got nothing, then," Dent summarized, "Normally, this is where I would say 'tough luck' and have the guards escort you back to your cell, but our Secretary General has other ideas."

The DA pushes across a sheet with print on it across the table towards Arsenal, then continues, "The man whose name you ineptly tried to dirty has authorized me to offer you a deal. I'm sure that you've heard of the Vigilante Registration Act that he's trying to promote. If you volunteer to be a spokesperson to promote it, I've been authorized to grant you whatever deal you need, save for a full exoneration. This may be the only chance you have to avoid going to Belle Reve for anywhere from 14 to 32 years. All you have to do is sign on the dotted line. It's up to you."

* * *

In the end, he wasn't able to bring himself to do it. Even if he hadn't let go of his anger towards Oliver and the other Leaguers for not continuing to look for him, it would still have been effectively betraying Connor, Kara, and the other members of the Team who'd done nothing to deserve his anger which landed him in this mess.

As he came to his cell, he saw his new cellmate. Judging by the cursory look the guy gave him, it looked like he was of the group of those who don't care one way or another about him. Of course that didn't matter much, as this guy was so scrawny that Arsenal could handle him easily. So could anyone that wanted to get to him. Still, at least he would not likely be fighting 24/7 at first, so that's something.

All the same, Arsenal wished that he had wised up sooner. He'd much rather have turkey and stuffing with Oliver or Connor than enduring whatever gruel they decided to serve him here. Next to Christmas, Thanksgiving is a terrible time to send alone.

* * *

"You know, Bruce, you didn't have to ostracize yourself today," Clark says cordially on the phone, "I'm sure that Martha could have set you a plate here too."

"Thanks, Clark," Batman's voice comes over the line, "but I don't think that Connor would've appreciated me being there today. Even Tim's been avoiding me. Besides, the work doesn't stop just because most others are stuffing themselves with stuffing. Here I figure if I keep an eye on things today, then the chances are less that any of you will have to leave dinner early to take care of it yourselves."

"Well, I'm not too fond of what you had suggested either, but I understand your reasoning behind it," Clark replied, "Doesn't make it any less wrong, but I know you have to think of the worst case scenario. So later tonight I'll bring you some coffee, and maybe a slice of pie, and we can talk about what you should have suggested instead."

"Thanks, Clark," Batman said, "You're a good guy,"

"You too," Clark repeated, "Catch you later."

As Clark hung up the phone, he walked back into the Farmhouse where the furniture had been temporarily moved out of the living room to make room for the large dining table that a large number of people are currently seated around: the Garricks, Wally West and his parents, Artemis and her mom, Barry Allen, his wife Iris and their babies, Roy Harper and his daughter Liam, Jessie Quick, Connor (who was trying to pretend he hadn't overheard Clark's phone call and that it hadn't bothered him), Megan (who was patting Connor's hand and, no doubt, saying comforting things to him psychically), John Jones, Zatanna and, of course, Clark's parents and Lois.

"Thanks for having us over here," Jay Garrick said once Clark came back into view, "The repairs to our home won't be complete until next week."

"It's no problem, really," Jonathan said as Martha and Joan got up to take the stripped down turkey back to the kitchen and retrieve yet another that was kept warm in the oven, "Of course hosting you guys would've been more difficult if you guys hadn't went and did so much shopping for today, or if the groceries hadn't survived….you know, what happened to your kitchen."

"It's okay, Mr. Kent," Jessie said, wiping a tear from her eye, "The thing about being in this line of work is knowing that each run can be our last. Besides, it's easier to deal with it being here with all you guys than it is being alone. You guys feel like as much as of a family to me as dad was."

"And you are," Barry says as he places his arm around her shoulder and gives her a comforting squeeze, "I can't thank you, your father, or Wally enough! If you Quicks hadn't placed yourselves between the Black Flash and my family, and if Wally and Bart hadn't taken care of it, I shudder to think of what might have happened."

"But while you may have taken care of this incarnation of the Black Flash, I do not believe that it will be gone for good," Jay explained, "Black Flash isn't inherently evil, it merely serves to maintain the balance between life and death. Another one will eventually re-form."

"Well hopefully the next one will learn to curb its appetite, " Wally said around a mouthful of food.

"Unlike you, you mean?" Artemis teased, which prompts a laugh from everyone there. Artemis then turns to Zatanna and says, "I thought that you were going to talk to Naboo about letting your dad spend the Holiday with you?"

"I wanted to," Zatanna explained, "But things kept preventing me from bringing it up, so I decided to instead to talk to him tomorrow about allowing me to at least have Christmas with him. It'll be hard enough to convince Naboo to let him remove the helmet for even a short while. If I give him time to consider the idea, he'll be less likely to think that it's a trick or something."

Roy nods and says, "Seems reasonable."

Artemis nods and asks Roy, "Heard anything from my sister?"

"Only that she and your father are still in hiding," Roy answered, "Apparently, when they attacked Black Manta, then did not inform the Light that you and Kaldur were double agents, the Light and the Shadows considered that base treachery. While I can't say the same for your father, I'm sure that they'll have a difficult time finding your sister, let alone doing anything to her."

Artemis nods solemnly as Barry said, "It's too bad my grandson had to go back home when he did."

"Yeah, it is," Wally agrees, "but I'm sure that he's having a good time back home with our older selves."

* * *

As Bart woke up, he wondered why his head hurt so much. Then he noticed that he was being held by restraints on a vertical, slightly reclined surface, and he remembered everything.

In a groan that was caused as much by pain as it was self-depreciation, Bart thought,_ You just had to come home now! We could have waited for until after we helped the others, but no! Well I hope you're happy, cause we're home!_

As Bart started to try to vibrate his way free, he heard the voice of Desaad off to the side saying, "Don't bother trying to vibrate your way free, young hero. Those restraints are made of a special alloy that absorbs vibrations. They also have a high tensile strength as well as a high melting point. Those shackles are strong enough to hold Superman. In fact, Superman himself died on that very rack."

Bart tried to hide his shock by saying sarcastically, "Wow, I feel so honored."

"You should, young man, you should be," Desaad said amiably, "Truth is you are the last living hero on earth!"

Now Bart found it hard to even pretend that he wasn't shocked as he now found himself speechless. Bart had held out hope that, even though it seemed that The Light and their partners now held control of the planet, there might still be some resistance remaining against them. But if Desaad was telling the truth and all of the remaining heroes are now dead…

"What I find most interesting, however," Desaad continued, "is how you can be here. While you were unconscious, I took the liberty of performing a genetic test and found that those who would have been your parents were killed in the first days of the invasion almost forty years ago, long before they could have given birth to you. The fact that you're here regardless is a very fascinating paradox."

"What can I say? I'm special that way," Bart quipped flippantly. However, he thought to himself, _My parents died before giving birth to me? Does that mean I'm going to wink out of existence again? I didn't exactly enjoy the experience the first time! I need to find a way to get back and fix this before time catches up with me in the worst way!_

Before Desaad can say anything more, a dark and menacing voice comes from behind Desaad saying, "Have you learned anything from the speedster yet?"

Desaad spins around and kneels, saying reverently, "Lord Darkseid."

Bart felt a thrill of fear as he saw Desaad's master enter the room. He'd only seen the ruler of Apokalypse once, and only from a distance, and he'd been surrounded with other heroes then. Seeing him up close, all alone and helpless, Bart felt as if he wanted to shrivel up and die before Darkseid could do anything himself: Darkseid practically radiated power and evil. If it weren't for the fact that he was still alive, Bart would claim that Darkseid was the devil himself.

Desaad pulled Bart out of his introspective as he answered his master, "The hero had just recovered consciousness, my Lord: apparently his head was not as hard as the interrogation of the comrades of his we'd captured all those years ago had led us to believe. I was about to begin my interrogation of him when you entered just now."

"I trust you will do so," Darkseid said commandingly, "We must find out how he is here now, despite such clear indicators that he should not even exist. If his parents are still alive, then there may possibly be other heroes around planning to rebel. We have to maintain our control over this planet if we're to triumph over our enemies in New Genesis."

"I personally believe that the speedster is a temporal anomaly, much like that Nathaniel we had captured over six months ago," Desaad explained eagerly, "He had babbled on an on about how Bart had went back to fix the world's future, but it had only gotten worse. It's too bad he died during interrogation, we could have learned much from him about how Bart went back in the first place and what changes were made before our invasion."

Darkseid narrowed his eyes, and Desaad started in fear and kneeled lower and said, "Of course, my Lord, I will find out for certain!"

"See that you do," Darkseid said menacingly, "I'll leave you to your work then." Darkseid then turned and left.

As Desaad turned back towards Bart and starts to fiddle with the controls on his console, Desaad says, "For what it's worth, I believe I'm right. Because you traveled back and forth through time, you managed to come here to a future in which you were never born, and that there are no heroes remaining on Earth."

"If you believe that," Bart said, "then why are you messing with your machine?"

"Because I'm not one to defy my Lord Darkseid," Desaad explained, "Besides, I don't need a reason to torture someone, and like I'd said earlier, I didn't get all the info I wanted out of your friend Nathaniel before he died."

And then there was no more thought or breath for Idle conversation, as Bart was too busy screaming in agony.

* * *

_Ah, now this was the sort of welcome to this place I'd had in mind!_ Arsenal thought with a sort of mock satisfaction.

Arsenal had figured that one of those who wanted him dead would wind up finding him during one of the times the general population congregated together, and as it turned out he wasn't disappointed. One of the inmates, a hulking figure of a man, found his opportunity during lunch. Claiming that Arsenal had made a rude arm gesture at him as he'd passed (despite that the only arm Arsenal could have used to do so was holding his tray), the thug knocked away the tray of food and proceeded to try and beat Arsenal to death.

Of course the guards here didn't fail to meet his lowest expectations either. Supposed to keep the peace by activating the disciplinary functions of the inhibitor collars should the inmates get rowdy (and since Arsenal didn't have any powers to negate, the only thing his collar was good for was 'discipline'), they decided to just watch as the thug used his size and his two arms to his advantage.

Of course, Arsenal wasn't helpless. While he might have been in trouble if the man had managed to grab hold of his one good arm, Arsenal still had his training that he'd went through with Oliver. While his opponent was big and strong, he was also lumbering and slow, whereas Arsenal was fast and limber. He also knew the best places to strike to disable a larger opponent.

Arsenal managed to hold his own for a while, sticking and moving landing him a few good blows, before a feint from his opponent led Arsenal to commit to an attack that the thug easily caught in one hand. Before the man could press his advantage, however, Arsenal managed to get one solid kick between his thighs that had him squealing and sinking to his knees. Once again released, Arsenal decided to use the moment to end the fight quickly with a series of kicks and punches that left the man unconscious on the ground.

Of course, it was only after the fight was over that the guards decided to "do their jobs" and activate the collars, which left Arsenal and every other inmate in the room convulsing on the ground. Still, despite that he was still hungry and now aching all over from the shock he'd received, Arsenal could help smiling as the guards game down to escort him and the other prisoners to their cells. He'd managed to survive his first fight in this place with barely a scratch.

Chances were good that It'd only get harder from here, especially if the inhibitor collars were "accidentally" deactivated, but at least his concerns of being limited to only one arm were now reduced. Arsenal made himself a promise to properly thank Oliver for all of his training once he gets out of here, which now seems to be more of a possibility. Still, he hoped that the others were having a better Thanksgiving than he was.

* * *

Back at the Kent Farmhouse, Clark opens the door and says, "Oliver, Dinah, glad you were able to come!"

"Thank you for inviting us," Dinah Lance said cordially.

"Yeah, same," Oliver agreed, "We had been considering eating out somewhere, just the two of us. When Dinah heard that you all were here, however, she practically insisted that we come here too, and in truth it's been too long since I've had an honestly home-cooked dinner."

"Well, come in," Clark said as he led the way to the dining table.

As Dinah sat down, she said, "As I was telling Oliver, not that he really needed convincing, is that Thanksgiving is a time for families to come together, to be reminded of what they have to be grateful for. I truly believe that we are more than a team; we are a family. The Light may consider each other as allies, possibly equals. They may even share some of the same Ideas and beliefs. But they don't share the bond we share, ties that go far beyond that of blood."

She then turns towards Connor and says, "We may stumble, we may fall. We may make mistakes: say the wrong thing or something that's said may get taken the wrong way; we may do something that inadvertently get someone hurt or worse. And sometimes those actions may require disciplinary action, but in the end we stand by each other. The Light may fight to realize their ambitions, but we fight to protect our family, and that's why we will win."

As Connor casts his eyes slightly downward, Oliver cheers "Hear, Hear!" and the cheer is echoed around the table.

* * *

Bart had lost track of how long he'd been here: Days? Weeks? Hours? There was no sense of the time passing down here. There was only periods of pain and relief. It had gotten to the point where the relief was so great that Bart had taken to laughing hysterically when they occurred, which seemed to agitate Desaad even further.

"Where is the time machine?" Desaad bellowed, "What changes had you made to the time line?"

"I told you," Bart gasped between guffaws, "There is no time machine."

"Liar!" Desaad screamed as he activated his control panel again, causing Bart's laughs to change to screams until it was deactivated again, where they reverted to laughter again. "Your friend Nathaniel told me that you went back in a time machine, now where is it!"

"It's gone, okay!" Bart said when he was able to control his breathing again, "Yes, I went back in a time machine, but it was in Mount Justice when it got blown up by Kaldur, under the orders of you partners, the Light."

"Lies!" Desaad put Bart through another round of pain, then he said, "If the time machine was really destroyed back then, then how did you get back here?"

As he was asked that, Bart felt a familiar tingle in his left arm, he looked at it and saw that it had become translucent. Sorry, Chuckles, Bart thought with bitter humor, but looks like our time's up. As Bart relaxed to prepare himself for the end, his arm that was fading started to fall through the shackle. He was so surprised by this that he stiffened back up again, causing his arm to move back in place just as his arm snapped back into existence. As he looked at Desaad, it seemed that the torturer was so livid that he failed to notice the anomaly.

Realizing that he had a golden opportunity, if he can get the timing right, Bart did his best to look defeated as he groaned, "If I tell you that, will you stop this?"

"I'll consider it," Desaad answered.

Understanding that was the best he was going to get out of him, Bart croaked even quieter, "How I returned to this time was…"

"Yes?" Desaad said eagerly, leaning in to hear Bart better.

Feeling the tingle in his arms and legs, Bart looked into Desaad's eyes and said with a smile, "…I ran very, very fast!"

Bart then hit Desaad with a savage headbutt, which sent him reeling as Bart's arms and legs faded from view. Desaad then watched in disbelief as Bart fell free from his table and, as Bart willed himself to remain, he landed on the floor intact.

"B-b-but how?" Desaad stammered, "It's impossible for you to have vibrated free of your restraints!"

"Yeah, well it's too bad your escape-proof planning didn't cover being 'temporally erased from existence'!" Bart said with a smirk, then he knocked Desaad out with a super-speed roundhouse.

As he felt the time-stream trying to erase him from continuity fighting with his will to change it, Bart said, "I need to get back to 2016, and fast!" Then he took off out of the facility.

* * *

Though he'd gotten even more glares and snarls than when he'd first entered the facility, no one else had taken a poke at Arsenal the rest of that day. He guessed that they had more than enough electrocutions for one day.

As he sat in his cell, waiting for lights out, a warning klaxon went off and the cell doors closed as the PA announced, "Security Breach: Facility Lockdown! Security Breach: Facility Lockdown!"

Arsenal couldn't believe what he was hearing: Someone was breaking into Belle Reve? Who would be crazy enough to do that?

* * *

That someone, or rather something, was Chemo: a semi-sentient collection of toxic chemicals contained in a humanoid-shaped field. And it wasn't so much breaking into the facility as it was eating through the walls, its toxicity dissolving them as it moved forward. The arsenal that the guards used was of little use against the creature, as the bullets were dissolved as they entered and the beam weaponry was refracted through its surface. Of course they were smart enough to get out of its way when it didn't even slow down in its progress, although one guard was a little slow in moving and wound up getting his leg singed for his hesitation.

Finally, Chemo reached its destination. Once it melted its way into the room, Chemo shot a spray of chemicals from its "mouth" all over the facility's main server room. Within seconds, the vast array of supercomputer banks that served as the primary means of controlling everything within Belle Reve were reduced to molten slag.

* * *

Inside the facility, the effects were immediately evident, as the warning klaxon and the automated computer announcement of the lockdown were silenced, the cell doors were unlocked, and the inhibitor collars were deactivated. The guards, who had been patrolling the holding cells of a facility that they controlled, now found themselves out-manned and out-gunned, fleeing for their lives.

Arsenal was able to hear the cacophony of the prison riot down below his cell. As his cellmate pushed open the door, he turned back towards where he was sitting on the bed and asked, "Aren't you going to escape?"

"Nah," Arsenal replied, not bothering to move from his spot, "I made some friends of mine a promise, and I intend to keep it. Besides, if I leave before I'm properly released, I'd only be helping some people I'd rather not do any favors for."

"Eh, suit yourself!" his cellmate said, then he started to leave the cell. He didn't get farther than the door, however, before a large hand reach through, grabbed him by the uniform, and threw him hard against one of the side walls of the cell, where he slid down unconscious.

The owner of the hand turned out to be the man who had picked a fight with Arsenal this afternoon and lost. He entered the cell with two of his friends, who were nearly as big as him, and said, "Alright, Stubby, it's payback time!"

Arsenal sighed and stood as he said, "If you want to waste time here getting humiliated again, then go right ahead. I would advise taking the opportunity you've been given to escape, however, before that window is closed."

"I think I have plenty of time here to have my cake and eat it too," the thug said smirking as he pounded his fist into his palm."

"Oh really?" Arsenal said while rolling his eyes, "You know exactly how long it takes for the backup servers to activate once the main servers go down?"

"Uh…" the thug was at a loss for what to say to that.

"Because a facility like this always has a backup," Arsenal continues, "and I'm sure that the Standard Operating Protocol in a situation like this is to start with reactivation of the inhibitor collars and administrating a disciplinary charge large enough to render every inmate unconscious. That means once the backup systems are up and running, you won't be leaving."

As his friends urgently insist that they go, the thug growls and says, "You got lucky today punk, but the next time I see you, you're dead!"

"Love you too, sweetie!" Arsenal says mockingly as he blows a kiss towards the man leaving his cell.

After a few moments, when he was sure the man was gone, Arsenal walked out of his cell to look down into the mail hallway, where a bunch of convicts were getting ready to execute the guards they managed to round up.

"Hey, you sure you want to play with your friends in here?" Arsenal hollered down as he leapt from railing to railing until he was on the ground floor with the other convicts, "I hear it's a beautiful Thanksgiving Day outside."

"What is it to you if these piggies die or not, hero?" Icicle Jr. said menacingly as he formed a wicked ice sword in his hand.

"Oh, about the same as any life I suppose," Arsenal reasoned, "Of course, I wouldn't be very effective in stopping you. But if you waste too much time in here, then the secondary system will come on, and I guess nobody will be able to go out and play."

"Come on, son," Icicle Sr. said firmly, "These pigs aren't worth it."

"Aww, I never get to have any fun!" Icicle Jr. grumped as he jabbed his ice sword through the concrete floor mere inched away from a guard's head before turning and leaving the hall, the rest of the convicts following suit.

When the hall was mostly clear, one of the guards said, "Why didn't you stop them, son? Aren't you supposed to be a hero?"

"I was," Arsenal qualified, "but right now I'm merely a convicted felon with no powers, no weapons, and only one arm. The best I could do in this situation is convince them that escaping is more appealing than killing you. Besides, I'm sure that there's someone up top by now who's better qualified to make sure that the dogs don't run off too far."

"Well, in that case we're grateful," another guard said, "Thank you!"

"Don't mention it!" Arsenal said as he turned back towards the stairs to the upper residence levels, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be back in my cell waiting to be shocked to sleep."

* * *

Outside, in the skies above Belle Reve, Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardner watch as the first inmates start streaming out of the breached walls of the facility.

"Man, who let the dogs out?" Guy quips.

"Judging by the smell, I'd say it was Chemo." Hal responds.

"Well, let's not stand around talking about it," John says, "You guys work on getting the inmates back in, I'll go and drag Chemo back out."

As his fellow Lanterns nod in agreement, John flies through the breached walls and scans the facility for Chemo. It doesn't take long to find it, as Chemo's chemical makeup is unique and easily traceable. John catches up to him as he's closing on the room containing the secondary server. Before Chemo is able to breach the room, John encloses it in a cage generated by his ring. When its chemicals have no effect on the light construct, Chemo turns and spits a viscous stream that John is barely able to dodge. John then modifies his creation, changing the cage into a metal box with no holes, then flies quickly back through the facility with the crate in tow as Chemo is heard trying to pound its way out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Guy and Hal have the situation well in hand. Despite most of the inmates currently having their powers again, the two Lanterns are having little trouble rounding up the fleeing inmates and getting them back inside. With Guy favoring constructs of vicious guard dogs and Hal creating a platoon of MPs, most of whom are wielding Taser rods with a few using more specialized weaponry, they've been able to corral most of the inmates into light construct cages and float them back into the facility.

As they are rounding up the remaining resisting inmates, John flies back out of the hole with the crate construct in tow. Just as Chemo's fist finally breaches one of the sides of the crate, John adds booster rockets to his creation and shoots it off into the stratosphere.

"Chemo doesn't breathe," John explained, "It'll be safely restrained in low orbit while we wrap things up down here, then we can work together to bring it back to STAR Labs to be neutralized again."

"Good thinking," Guy said admiringly, "Of course, I myself would have used a giant slingshot to get it up there."

Hal chuckled as he said, "You and your obsession with the Furious Flock. Well, let's hurry up and get this facility secure and these prisoners under control."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Kent Farm, Clark is saying goodnight to the last of their visitors while Connor, Megan and Lois are helping Jonathan and Martha clear the table. As Oliver and Dinah drive off, Clark turns back to the others and says, "I should be going too. It's my turn at watch."

"I'll see you up there as soon as I help your parents and the kids put the things away," Lois says with a smile.

As Clark kisses his parents and Lois goodbye, Clark starts to leave, but then stops and turns back around saying, "Oh, I almost forgot…"

He stops as he sees Connor holding out a thermos filled with coffee and a sealed Tupperware container with slice of pumpkin pie inside. As Clark stared speechless, Connor said gruffly, "Don't make too much of it; Megan insisted. And while I'm still upset with him over what he did, he is your friend, and we need to act like a team if we're to end this crisis."

When Clark continued to stare, Connor said with a hint of irritation in his voice, "Will you just take this before I change my mind?"

With a smile, Clark took the offered packages and said, "Thank you, Connor." Then he turned and left the house.

* * *

Back in 2056, Bart is finding it more difficult to escape his corrupted time than it was to leave the facility he was held in. In between being harassed by the Female Furies at every turn and being hounded by flocks of parademons, Bart found that many of the humans remaining on Earth were, in fact, not quite human anymore. As he'd encountered one particular group, their eyes lit up and their arms changed to cannons which blasted sonic waves at him.

_That was Reach technology!_ Bart though in stunned disbelief, _But I thought we'd defeated the Reach in this timeline! Why is…_ Bart then smacked his head as he thought, _Of course!** That** was the reason for the Light aligning themselves with the Reach! It wasn't to help them conquer the planet, it was so Luthor and his allies could get their hands on the Reach's advanced tech!_

"Forget it, little guy!" the Female Fury Speed Queen said as she pulled up alongside Bart, "You have no chance to outrun me!"

"Ordinarily, I'd disagree," Bart said, "But I'm running low on gas and am out of time, so…"

Without missing a step, Bart leaned over mid-run and did something in super-speed over Speed Queen's feet.

"What are you doing, you little perv?" Speed Queen objected.

Standing back up, Bart said, "I found these. Are they important?" He then dumped into her hands a bunch of bolts.

As she looked at them, the wheels on her rocket-powered roller blades flew off and she ended up tumbling in the dirt.

After dodging the eye beams of Bloody Mary, arrows shot by Artemiz, and a lash aimed at his feet by Lashina, Bart nearly came to disaster when an earthquake caused by Stompa caused him to stumble. Luckily, Bart managed to regain his stride and raced on.

Bart's greatest and most terrifying obstacle came when he'd raced past Darkseid himself. As his heart raced in terror when he saw out of the corner of his eye Darkseid unleash the Omega Rays from his own, Bart gave one last push and finally achieved the speed to break through the Time Barrier.

As Bart disappeared from view and the Omega Rays fizzled out, no longer having a target to track, Darkseid growled to Granny Goodness, "Bring me Desaad!"

"At once, my lord!" Granny said as she bowed and left her furious master's side.

* * *

Back at Watchtower in 2016, Batman is monitoring the mop-up of the situation at Belle Reve when a Thermos of coffee and a Tupperware container with a slice of pie is set next to him on the counter. Looking up, Batman said, "Thanks Clark!"

"Actually, Connor deserves the thanks," Superman corrected, "I nearly forgot, but Connor saved the slice and prepared the thermos for me."

"Connor did?" Batman said in disbelief.

"I think he's trying to forgive you," Superman speculated, "Or, at the least, trying to improve on his tendency of getting angry about things, for Megan's sake. Perhaps you could apologize to Connor. It could possibly improve the tensions between you, and by extension the rest of the League and Team as a whole."

"I'm not sure if I can," Batman countered, "I've never apologized for anything I've done in my life."

Superman raised his eyebrow as he said, "Not even to Alfred?"

"Alfred's different," Batman qualified, "He's…"

"…practically a member of your family," Superman finished for him, "He raised you after your parents were murdered that night. I understand, believe me. But Bruce, we're members of your family too. Perhaps we haven't known you as long as Alfred, but we have been together through some very difficult situations. You have to understand you're not alone in this anymore, and that there's a chance for redemption in everyone, even if it's not an easy fix."

Before Batman can respond, a rend in the Space-time continuum appears near them and Kid Flash comes tumbling out of it.

"Bart!" Superman yelled in concern as he and Batman rushed to Bart's side, "Are you okay? We thought you went back home! What happened to you?"

"When…" Bart croaked, then wet his lips and tried again, "When is this?"

"November 24, 2016," Batman stated.

"I made it back!" Bart said weakly as he smiled, "Good!" Then he passed out.

"Bart?" Superman said in concern, "Bart!"

Checking his vitals, Batman said, "It's okay, he's just unconscious. We should get him down to Medical, though."

Superman nodded, then after Clark gingerly lifts Bart's unconscious form, he and Batman swiftly leave the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Back at Belle Reve, Arsenal wakes up with a throbbing headache, thought his foresight of lying down in bed in preparation kept it from getting worse. As his vision cleared, the face he saw was the second to last one he'd wanted to see.

"What can I do for you, Warden Strange?" Arsenal said with forced politeness.

"Ah, you're awake," Strange said, "I wasn't sure that the guards knew what they were talking about when they'd claimed you went back to your cell. I mean, what convict does that when he has an opportunity to leave?"

"Indeed." Arsenal says simply, "Is that all that brings you here, idle curiosity? If so, may I go back to sleep now?"

"I'm afraid not, and it'll be a bit longer before you'll be able to go back to sleep," Strange said, "You see, we're moving."

" 'Moving'?" Arsenal asked, confused.

"Yes," Strange confirmed, "You see, the damage Chemo had done to this facility, not to mention the toxic mess he left behind, makes retaining a population in here untenable. Therefore, at least until the damage to this facility is repaired, we're relocating the inmates here to a new facility that has just been constructed by LexCorp, with the blessing of the Department of corrections, of course. It has all the features of Belle Reve and is even compatible with the inhibitor collars, but it's walls are even more resistant to assaults like this one has suffered in the past."

_I'll bet_, Arsenal thought waspishly, _and it probably has a few features the government probably **doesn't** know about: like hidden escape routes that only a chosen few can find and activate; secret labs to create weapons and experiment on inmates; torture chambers to extract information from enemies._

Strange smiles and then says, "I think you'll be quite comfortable there."

* * *

Later on, in the medical wing, Bart stirs, then starts upright from his bed.

"It's okay, kid!" Barry said comfortingly, placing a gentle restraining hand on Bart's shoulder, "You're safe now."

"Yeah, you gave us quite the scare, bud," Superboy said as he ruffled his hair, "Clark said that you came back looking like 'death warmed over'."

"Yeah, well considering the TLC I got from Desaad when I got back home, I'm not surprised," Bart responded.

Everyone was stunned silent for a moment, then Wally said, "You mean in 2056, they came back?"

"No," Bart countered, "We lost the first time, here."

"But….how?" Jessie Quick stammered out.

"I don't know," Bart admitted, "I didn't have much time to gather information in my race to get back here before I was erased from the time-stream, due to my parents being killed before I was born."

"What do you mean?" Iris said fearfully, cradling her babies protectively, "Your father and aunt are right here, safe and sound. You and Wally saved them!"

"Maybe for now," Bart countered, "But this apparently takes place during the first days on the invasion."

"Is there anything that you can tell us?" Wally said, "Anything that can give us a clue as to how they managed to complete their conquest?"

After a moment's thought, Bart said, "Cyborgs. During my escape, I saw a lot of people turned into cyborg killing machines, and they all used Reach technology stolen by Luthor."

* * *

Victor Stone has had some extremely strange dreams, but this latest one takes the cake! For the most part, it was simply blackness, absolutely nothing happening. Then he sees a bunch of neon green text, like the kind you'd see on a computer screen, scroll in front of his face. Of course, he didn't understand what any of it meant: he was a star linebacker for his high school football team, not a computer geek.

"Come on," he heard a female voice calling out, "Wake up, Victor!"

_Mom?_ Vic thought drowsily, but then he dismissed that thought. Whoever that voice belonged to was much younger than his mom. Sounds seriously cute too.

As the strange text continued to appear, the female voice insisted, "You've got to wake up, Victor! We don't have much time here!"

Whoever this girl was, she was seriously bossy! Just who was she, and how did she know him?

As the last of the text appeared, reading **Wake-up sequence initiated…..Authorization: Mercy**, the voice bellowed, "Victor Stone, wake up _now!_"

Victor then woke up groggily. At least, at first he though he woke up, but the place he was in he was sure he'd never seen before. Not to mention he appeared to be seeing through some heads-up display like in the first-person shooters his best friend Ron Evers likes to play.

His head feeling too heavy, he reached his left hand up to cradle his head, but something felt wrong. He couldn't feel anything through his left hand at all, and it felt as though something metal was touching his face. Feeling his heart racing, he pulled his had back to take a look at it. His entire arm was made of metal, like a robot's! Both of them were! Looking down, he saw that what of his lower torso was also robot-like! And his arm was so shiny, he could see his reflection. But that couldn't possibly be his face! What…what…?

"What has happened to meeee!?" Victor bellowed.

End of chapter


	8. 8) Upgrade

**Upgrade**

**September 12, 2016**

**10:26 pm**

In the hall of a hospital, an African-American couple are seated outside an ICU room where a young man is lying on a bed, hooked up to all kinds of life support equipment. From what can be seen, the young man appears to have been in good physical shape before whatever happened to land him in this place. It's also apparent that he's now missing more than a few body parts.

The older gentleman, who's apparently the boy's father, lifts his tear-streaked face to look directly at the Caucasian woman seated in front of them and says, "It was just a stupid accident! My son had just won the first football game of his senior year. He was driving home when a rig had run the red light and…"

As his wife cries even harder, the man takes a deep breath and says, "Miss Graves, the doctors here say that there's little to no chance our son will make it, and even if he does he'll be homebound and a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. What can your people do for him that they can't?"

"More than you'd think," Miss Graves replies, "LexCorp is constantly on the cutting edge of technology, from housewares to defense technology, we even have our share of medical breakthroughs. We've already developed countless advances in artificial organs and limb replacements. Because your son will be the first to receive the newest line of our artificial replacements, we won't charge for the procedure or the replacements. We will need to insist on no contact with him while we're working on getting him better, as we don't want there to be any complications that may result in his body rejecting the replacements, but by the time he returns Christmas morning he'll be even better than new!"

The mother, whose crying had quieted some, looked up and asked, "And….his football?"

Miss Graves places her hand over the mother's and says, "Mrs. Stone, I'm afraid your son's football days may be over, though not because he won't be able to play…" She then gives her a lopsided grin as she continues, "…but rather because he'll have an unfair advantage."

The father, surprised by this proclamation, asks "Really? They're that good?"

Miss Graves then reaches over to her own right shoulder with her left hand then, with a loud click, removes her right arm and slides it out of the sleeve, holding it out on display to the amazed parents as she announces, "As they often say on TV…'I'm also a client'!"

* * *

**November 24, 2016**

**11:17 pm**

Victor Stone has had some extremely strange dreams, but this latest one takes the cake! For the most part, it was simply blackness, absolutely nothing happening. Then he sees a bunch of neon green text, like the kind you'd see on a computer screen, scroll in front of his face. Of course, he didn't understand what any of it meant: he was a star linebacker for his high school football team, not a computer geek.

"Come on," he heard a female voice calling out, "Wake up, Victor!"

_Mom?_ Vic thought drowsily, but then he dismissed that thought. Whoever that voice belonged to was much younger than his mom. Sounds seriously cute too.

As the strange text continued to appear, the female voice insisted, "You've got to wake up, Victor! We don't have much time here!"

Whoever this girl was, she was seriously bossy! Just who was she, and how did she know him?

As the last of the text appeared, reading **Wake-up sequence initiated…..Authorization: Mercy**, the voice bellowed, "Victor Stone, wake up now!"

Victor then woke up groggily. At least, at first he though he woke up, but the place he was in he was sure he'd never seen before. Not to mention he appeared to be seeing through some heads-up display like in the first-person shooters his best friend Ron Evers likes to play.

His head feeling too heavy, he reached his left hand up to cradle his head, but something felt wrong. He couldn't feel anything through his left hand at all, and it felt as though something metal was touching his face. Feeling his heart racing, he pulled his had back to take a look at it. His entire arm was made of metal, like a robot's! Both of them were! Looking down, he saw that what of his lower torso was also robot-like! And his arm was so shiny, he could see his reflection. But that couldn't possibly be his face! What…what…?

"What has happened to meeee!?" Victor bellowed.

_Quiet!_ Victor heard the female voice say again, although this time it sounded as though it came from inside his own head, _do you want to alert the whole facility!?_

"Who are you? Where are you? What do you want?" Vic cried out, all of the strange events piling up making it difficult for him to even contemplate calming down.

_Geez, is this the real face of the "rock-solid Vic Stone" who went 20-0 during his Junior year and won the State championship for the Ford High Titans?_ The female voice chided.

Victor, shocked by how much this voice knew so much about him, asked in a subdued voice, "How….how did you know that?"

_When I saw you were chosen for this program, I kinda read your e-file….several times,_ the female voice said, sounding somewhat embarrassed,_ I also saw the jpeg attached to your profile. You were kinda cute….you know, before._

Victor was unsure as to whether to be flattered or creeped out. "Just who are you? How are you speaking inside my head?"

_Look, we'll have time for a full introduction and explanations later, once we've gotten you out of here and to somewhere safe!_ The girl hurriedly promises, _But for now, just think of me as a fellow LexCorp victim, one who doesn't want you to share my fate!_

"Can I at least get a name, or something to call you?" Vic asked, "I can't just keep calling you 'you' or 'girl'."

After a moment's pause, she replies,_ Grace. You can call me Grace._

"Grace," Vic mused, "That's a lovely name!"

_It's not my name, just a close equivalent,_ Grace corrected, _Once you are safe, and my secret's safe with you, I'll give you my real name. But we need to get out of here before…_

At that instant, a warning klaxon begins to go off, and Grace continues with a groan,_ …that happens!_

"What's going on now?" Vic says in trepidation.

_Security has just noticed that your systems have been activated, and are now on their way to shut you back down!_ Grace explains,_ So unless you are looking forward to Lex Luthor's finishing turning you into his personal voice-activated killer robot, then I advise that you do what you linebackers do best and** run!**_

And Victor Stone did just that.

* * *

Meanwhile, back up at Watchtower, the others are still reeling from what Bart had just revealed to them about the future.

"Cyborgs?" Beast Boy said in stunned surprise, "_Reach_ cyborgs!?"

"Now the reason for the Light's 'alliance' with the Reach makes sense," Batman said matter-of-factly, "since they apparently didn't intend to continue the manufacture of the Reach drink, and I don't believe that they were just looking for the good PR. Their whole objective was most likely to gain access to the Reach's advanced technology. It's very likely that Mercy is merely a prototype that was constructed utilizing only Earth tech, though possibly not entirely from this century if Kadabra was involved."

"But so many?" Megan said fretfully, "How did the Light or Apokalypse manage to convert so many people into their soldiers that we were unable to stop them?"

"You'd be surprised how many people there are out there who have missing limbs and are unable to afford a decent substitute," Superman answered, "If you add in those who are born with deformed limbs or are suffering from paralysis, then that number grows. I imagine it wouldn't take much convincing to convince them to take the opportunity to have a normal life, especially if that offer comes gratis from the 'humanitarian' Lex Luthor. Of course, I'm sure that they wouldn't be made aware of the strings that come attached."

"This makes the Reach drink plot seem more like the plot of a Saturday-morning cartoon!" Jessie quick says uneasily.

Batman nodded and said, "Which makes finding out about the Reach Cyborgs and stopping their production our top priority. When everyone's here tomorrow, we'll make plans to locate where the production facility is and to discover who may have been selected for the program."

Just then, Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardner enter the hospital room where the others are gathered. As Batman turned towards them, he asked, "So how's the situation at Belle Reve?"

"Situation?" Superman asked in surprise, "What situation?"

"Someone directed Chemo to break-in to Belle Reve," John Stewart said while rubbing the back of his neck, "As for what happened with it, it'll probably be easier for you to see it for yourselves."

John then activated a viewing monitor in the hospital room, which showed a recorded clip from the G. Gordon Godfrey show.

"I hope that those of you who are watching this tonight aren't too sleepy after having stuffed yourselves with turkey this thanksgiving, because after you hear what I have to tell you, I can almost guarantee you won't be getting any sleep tonight! Earlier this evening, the being known as Chemo went and carved up Belle Reve like a Thanksgiving bird. Of course, those so-called intergalactic peacekeepers, the Green Lanterns, soon contained the rampaging toxic monster and rounded up most of the escaping felons, who are now being escorted to a new prison facility that had finished being constructed by LexCorp."

"I know what you're thinking," Godfrey continued, " 'Why are you telling us this? Aren't you always going on about the menace of the so-called heroes?' Well hold on friends, because I'm not done! Most of the felons had got rounded up, but a few had managed to slip through the fingers of those emerald pretend-a-cops: Captain Cold, Mr. Freeze, Icicle Jr. and Sr., not to mention Vertigo, The Riddler, and Shimmer. "

Gesturing towards the camera, as if he's pointing directly towards the viewers, Godfrey says, "Now here's the question that I'm sure is going to keep you folks awake as much as knowing these criminals are back on the streets: was it merely incompetence that allowed Chemo to attack Belle Reve and these seven to be loosed on the world, or was it actually planned to play out like this by the 'heroes' who came to 'stop' it? Was Chemo actually set upon Belle Reve by these vigilantes? I find it hard to swallow as mere coincidence that one of the villains happened to be one that Flash himself…"

Guy Gardner angrily shuts off the monitor, gritting his teeth as he growls, "We worked extra hard to round up those inmates and to keep them contained until they could be locked up again, and this attention-hungry media swine has the gall to suggest that we staged the attack on the prison to allow those 7 criminals to escape!?"

"Even if it was only _one_ who got away, Godfrey would still use it as an excuse to cast us in an unsavory light," Batman said simply, "What I find more troubling is the mention of this new prison that he mentioned Luthor had created, as well as that it was approved with no previous public announcement."

"You don't suppose that the cyborg production facility is there?" Black Canary asked.

"It's one possibility," Batman suggested, "It's likely that the attack was to give them the excuse to move the prisoners into position, either to man the production facility or to be its subjects. Unfortunately, I believe that it'll be more difficult to infiltrate this prison than it was to get into Belle Reve. However, we may already have someone on the inside who might be able to help us investigate."

"Arsenal," Green Arrow said as he crossed his arms.

Batman nodded as he continued, "We'll need to find a way to contact him in order to bring him in on this."

"Wait!" Bart said suddenly from his hospital bed, "Did that Godfrey guy say today was Thanksgiving!?"

Zatanna suppressed a chuckle as she said, "Throughout that broadcast, and the conversation about it, and_ that_ was what you picked up on?"

Checking his digital chronometer built into his gauntlet, Batman announced, "It's now 12:02 am on the 25th; Thanksgiving is now yesterday."

"Aww, I missed it!?" Bart complained, "I just _had_ to run out of gas when I did!"

Bart's stomach echoed his complaint by growling loudly, which prompts laughter from everyone present (except Batman, of course, although he did smile slightly.)

"Don't worry, bud," Superboy said consolingly, placing his hand on Bart's shoulder, "I'm sure we can scrounge up enough of the traditional Thanksgiving leftovers to help silence that angry beast!"

"Here's this as a start," Batman said as he handed Bart the pumpkin pie slice Clark had given him only a couple of hours ago, "Courtesy of Martha Kent."

"Hey, thanks Bats!" Bart said as he eagerly took the pie from him, "You're an okay guy!"

Batman then cleared his throat as he said, "Well then, I suggest that we all get some sleep tonight. I suspect that we're all going to be extremely busy starting tomorrow."

As Batman left the room first, Superboy followed right behind and said as soon as he was clear of the room, "You didn't have to do that you know."

"He needed it more than I did," Batman explained simply.

"You should know that I'm still upset about the business with Megan and the Star Sapphire," Connor states, "but I've been trying to make myself into a better person, and I know that what happened to you as a child has shaped much of what you are today. It's not something you can do much about, like I can't help that I've only been alive for a few years now and most of what I know was programmed into me."

"You may be lucky that you have so little of a past to deal with, Connor," Batman reciprocated, "Much like a child who's seen as many years as you, your course is still very much free for you to choose. Some of us have pasts that are so deeply ingrained and set in stone that our course is set, with only the most minor of course corrections still possible for us."

Superboy nodded as he continued, "That's why I've decided to let this matter rest for good. No matter the outcome: Whether you're banned, put on suspension, or allowed to remain on the League with merely a warning, I will accept the outcome and move on."

Batman nodded in return and, with both accepting that this was as close as they were going to get to an apology and acceptance, the both turned and walked separate directions as the others filed out of the room.

* * *

Victor still really hoped that this was all some bad dream, but was becoming increasingly convinced that he wasn't going to be that lucky. He'd encountered a number of guards on his forward flight, and they'd fired on him with a variety of weapons: Ranging from standard 9mm to laser guns and even high-powered Tasers. He'd managed to dodge most of these with surprising ease. Part of that he supposed was due to his training as a linebacker, learning to dodge and weave between defenders who tried to prevent him from making the touchdown. However, he had to admit that his speed and reflexes were much greater now than they ever were. Only understandable, since his body was barely human anymore. He wasn't even getting winded, and he'd been running for a while now.

Victor was in the home stretch when he spotted a double line of guards in his path, their weapons leveled at him. There wasn't really any chance he'd be able to dodge an onslaught like that! Now what was he going to do?

_Just imagine you are participating in a football game,_ Grace suggested, as if she was reading his thoughts,_ Your team is down by four, there's seconds left on the clock, you have the ball, and those guards are standing between you and the goal line! What would you do?_

Taking her suggestion to heart, Victor let his fear fall away._ That's right,_ he thought to himself,_ this is only a game, **the** game! And those guys are the only the defensive line trying to prevent me from winning it for my team! I will not let them down!_

Raising his left arm to try and shield the human side of his face, he lowered his shoulder and bellowed as he charged at the guards as they opened fire on him. Four seconds later, he crashed through the line, scattering the guards like ten-pins. His enhanced hearing heard a number of bones cracking and breaking. Even though he felt sorry for their pain, he did not stop until he crashed through an immense lobby and the glass doors beyond. As he stopped for a second to take stock of himself and his surroundings, the first thing he noticed was that the guards' weaponry didn't do as much damage to him as he thought they would, and what little damage was done was already repairing itself!

As he took stock of himself, the next thing that struck him was just how dry it was, much dryer than back home in Metropolis! As he looked around, his enhanced eyesight could make out in the distance….was that the Sun Bowl Stadium? Just what was he doing in El Paso, Texas!?

_Your mother let you be brought here after your accident,_ Grace explained, _You were in rather rough shape, and the doctors in Metropolis didn't give you much hope for survival. Then she was approached by….a LexCorp representative, who told your parents that not only could they save your life, but they could also offer you a chance at a normal one._

Victor remembered the accident now, how he was excited at telling his folks, who had to work that day, how he'd won the game, when his car got wrapped around the front end of a semi. As he looked down at his body, however, Vic exclaimed, "This is normal!?"

Your preparation isn't yet complete, Grace explained, They were saving the artificial epidermal application for after…

A few stray shots from the next wave of guards interrupted Grace, who said,_ This will have to wait! I'll be happy to explain on the way, but we can't stay here!_

As Victor started to run again, he asked, "But where are we going to go?"

_We need to attract the right kind of attention,_ Grace explained, _Heroic attention. Since we are in El Paso, I may know of someone who may be nearby._

* * *

As Jaime Reyes climbed out of his bedroom window, silently instructing the Scarab to armor up, he found himself anxiously wanting to find something to do. As enjoyable as he found spending time with his family, he couldn't help but to find it dreadfully boring.

He was sure that it hadn't always been this way, it was only since he'd found the Scarab that his life had dramatically changed. Now he was often out saving the world with others whose abilities were different, yet still powerful, and he had awesome friends like Beast Boy and Static. Of course he knew that it was for the ability to have those "boring" moments that they all fought so hard for, but still…

In order to try and avoid waking his parents, Jaime made a huge leap from the Porch overhang before activating his flight systems. Of course his parents were aware of his heroic activities: Nightwing had approached them to ask their permission for him to join the Team because he was still a minor then. That didn't mean they'd appreciate being woken in the middle of the night by his rocket-pack going off right outside.

As he flew on, looking for something to do, Jaime considered asking the Scarab to remove the mask portion of the headgear just so he could feel the cool, dry night air on his face when Scarab announced,_ Jaime Reyes, I just picked up a police broadcast of an out-of-control experimental defensive weapon from LexCorp! They say that lethal force is authorized! We must find this weapon and destroy it ourselves!_

"Hold on, hermano!" Jaime called out, "First: If this thing was merely a 'weapon', then the police wouldn't be referring to the force necessary as 'lethal', and in case you've forgotten, we don't kill! Secondly: If this thing came from LexCorp, then there's a good chance that it's something the Light was preparing for their plans for world domination. If that's so, then we should try to capture it intact! At the very least it could give us an idea as to what we can expect and allow us to plan to counter it."

_Your judgment is sound, Jaime Ryes_, the Scarab agreed, _We will proceed with your plan!_

Then they flew on through the night, scanning for anything that might possibly be a berserk and dangerous mobile arsenal.

* * *

As he ran through the city, Victor said, "So you're a lot like me?"

_Yes,_ Grace answered,_ I am essentially the X-box to your 360. Before this happened to me, I was a cheerleader for the Ford High Titans. Where as your life was changed by a rig that didn't stop in time, mine was ruined by something far scarier: the monster known as Doomsday._

"Doomsday!?" Victor barked in surprise, "That was nearly 11 years ago!"

_That's right,_ Grace said, _Why do you sound so surprised?_

"It's just that it would make you at least old enough to be my mother's youngest sister," Victor explained, "But you sound almost my age, maybe even younger."

_I was, back when that monster destroyed my car, killing my friends and nearly killing me,_ Mercy explained, _It would have killed me, had it not been for Superman. As it was, I was seriously wounded. From what I was able to gather, I must have been in a coma for about 2 months when I was "saved" by another monster: Lex Luthor himself! When I finally woke up about 4 months later, my body was no longer my own! An AI was controlling what things my body did, what words came out of my mouth! And me? I was kept in a virtual cell inside my own head, not aging or maturing, able to see and hear everything "I" did, but unable to do anything about it!_

"If the AI was controlling your body, then why did they keep you around?" Victor asked, then cringed and said, "I'm sorry! That came out wrong."

_It's alright, I often asked myself the same question,_ Grace said, _The only thing that I could think of is that human behavior and emotional reactions are too complicated to program. The AI couldn't possibly convince my parents that I was still me alone. It kept me around so that it could access my memories so it could react realistically in certain situations. That must be why I wasn't simply erased back then. But now…_

"Yes?" Victor prompted.

_I hadn't had any contact with my parents since "I" broke their hearts little more than 8 years ago,_ Grace said,_ nor had I encountered anyone I know. The only reason I hadn't been purged must be because I wasn't worth the expense or hassle. They might even have forgotten that I'm still here. If they ever found out what access I've discovered that I have when my body's "asleep", that it was me who first leaked information that made Batman suspicious about Project Cadmus, that I was the one who woke you up by accessing your Wi-Fi receiver, then I'll be eliminated for sure! I know too much!_

"I won't let that happen!" Victor promised, "I'll find you and get you your body back!"

_Please,_ Grace begged,_ don't make me promises you won't be able to keep!_

"I'm not," Victor assured her, "I may not exactly be a tech genius, but you said my system is basically an upgraded version of yours, so it should be no mre difficult than hacking an old IBM with a more modern…"

As he spoke, a squad of police cars swarmed in the road in front of him sirens blazing, blocking his path. As Victor skidded to a stop, the officers rushed out of their cars, leveling their guns at him and yelling "Freeze!"

_Quick, Victor!_ Grace yelled, panicked, _Turn up the cross street and get out of here!_

"Wait! These are police officers, not security guards!" Victor said quickly, "They may not be the heroes you mentioned, but they are the good guys. Maybe we can talk our way out of this?"

"Uh, who are you talking to, son?" an older officer asked.

"What?" Victor said confusedly, then continued, "Oh, just a friend. Look, officer, my name is Victor Stone, and I'm just trying to get back home to Metropolis."

"Metropolis, huh?" the officer says, disbelievingly, "You sure are a long way from home, son."

"Don't I know it!" Victor responded, "I was brought here to be treated for my accident, but I'm feeling much better now and I'd like to go back to my parents now. I'm sure I have a lot of make-up homework to catch up on."

"Uh-huh," the officer replied, apparently still not buying it, "Where'd you get the suit, boy?"

"It's not a suit," Victor countered, "it's my body."

"And have you always looked like the Terminator on a bad day?" the officer queried.

"Only since my treatment which saved my life," Victor answered, "Look, just contact my parents Silas and Elinore Stone in Metropolis. They'll be able to back up most of what I've been saying."

The older officer turned to his partner and, scratching his head under his hat, asked him, "How do you think we should handle this?"

As the two officers talked to one another, Victor's enhanced eyesight spotted Blue Beetle closing in on their position. "Hey, Grace!" Victor said excitedly, "One of the heroes came, just as you said they would!"

As he watched, however, his HUD became tinted with red and overlaid a lock-on reticle on the incoming hero, along with the caption Incoming hostile detected. Switching to attack mode.

As Victor felt his arm raise of its own accord and morph into some sort of cannon, Victor asked Grace, "Are you doing this?"

_No!_ Grace replied, _There must have been some baseline defensive programming incorporated into your model!_

Unable to lower his arm or change his aim in any way, Victor yelled, "No!" as his arm cannon fired.

* * *

As Jaime approached the scene, he saw someone that looked like a black Robocop calmly talking with the police officers on the scene. "Hardly looks like an out-of-control weapon to me, amigo!" Jaime commented to the Scarab. As the robot looking dude turned to look at him, Jaime could hardly believe what he was seeing: that was Victor Stone!

Jaime had went to the high-school football nationals to watch his high school go up against Victor's, and what a game that was! His team was tough, but Victor was unstoppable! Jaime had never seen a game like that before! Both teams were neck and neck, and Victor's team would have won the nationals if it weren't for a desperate, last-second field goal executed by Jaime's high school team. But what was he doing here now, looking like that?

As he was thinking this, Victor raised his arm up as it changed into a cannon. Only the Scarab's reflexes managed to get them out of the way as the most powerful sonic blast Jaime had ever seen split the air where he's been only seconds ago!

_That was Reach technology!_ the Scarab exclaimed.

"I know, amigo!" Jaime yelled as he regained his senses, the cops taking shelter behind their cars and leveling their weapons at Victor, "But that blast was way more powerful that anything even the Black Beetle used against us, plus the Reach are long gone!"

_Obviously the human Luthor stole Reach technology when he was pretending to be their ally!_ the Scarab responded as Victor prepared to fire again,_ This cyborg is too dangerous to remain functional, we must destroy it!_

As Jaime prepared warn the officers (who were starting to open fire) to move away so he may have a clear shot, Victor turned towards the attacking police, warning, "Look out!" shortly before releasing a sonic blast that sent two of the nearest cop cars flying.

"Whoa, did you see that, amigo?" Jaime exclaimed.

_I did, Jaime Reyes,_ the Scarab confirmed, _the Reach cyborg has now turned on the human law enforcement. We must destroy it to save their lives!_

"That's not what I meant, hermano," Jaime corrected, "He warned them before he fired, and he waited until they were clear of the blast before doing so! Dude, I don't think he's in control of his own actions!"

_Like the Superboy and the Martian?_ Scarab inquired.

"Kind of, but more simple," Jaime replied as he dodged more blasts aimed his way, "Like someone or something is pulling his strings while he's aware."

_What would you suggest in this situation?_ Scarab asked him.

"If part of his tech is based on Reach technology, then perhaps we can hack in and disable whatever it is that is causing him to act out of control," Jaime suggested.

_Sounds like a good idea, Jaime Reyes,_ Scarab agreed, then continued as they dodged even more shots, _However, I do not believe that the cyborg's controller is going to make it easy for us to do that._

_Perhaps I can help, then?_ a female voice Jaime had never heard before offered.

"Did you hear that, amigo?" Jaime asked.

_I did, friend Jaime Reyes,_ Scarab confirmed,_ Identify yourself, intruder!_

_You can call me Grace,_ Grace responded,_ The similarities of your systems to Victor's is allowing me to speak to you._

"Are you his operating system?" Jaime asked.

_No,_ Grace corrected,_ but I have been trying to help him get away from Luthor. Unfortunately, when he saw you it triggered some defensive systems that must have been programmed long before I got to him. I've been trying to shut them down, but I've only managed to provide enough interference to cause a four-second delay._

"That may be enough," Jaime stated, "Can you slow him down while we jack in?"

_I'll try,_ Grace said, then she went silent.

* * *

As "Grace" reached for deeper access into Victor's cyber-realm, she wondered why she was going to such lengths for a guy she barely knew. Was the reason she gave Victor the real one: that she didn't want to have him suffer the same fate she did?

Thinking about it, it was true, but not the whole truth. Part of it was that she wanted to hurt Luthor, and putting his fancy new prototype into the hands of the youths who've caused him so much trouble would do exactly that. Also, she was tired of being trapped inside her own body, watching as she was made to do whatever he'd ordered, even breaking her parent's hearts.

Lastly, there was just something about this guy that reminded her of her old boyfriend. Victor looked nothing like him, but as she saw his photo, read his file, she'd decided that she had to save him, no matter the cost!

As she neared the activated defense systems, she thought about how she was going to slow this thing down enough for Blue Beetle, or as she now knew him, Jaime, to hack in. She'd tried to use the different access codes she'd observed her AI captor use. None of them worked, so she must assume that Luthor must have restricted the shutdown access to himself alone. Due to that she was still largely tied to her own body and mostly contained within her cell, she didn't have much in the way of cyber-muscle here, so manhandling it was out. If only she could somehow access her old computer, then she might be able to do some old-fashioned hacking. But even if she was able to use it, and even if the ancient thing still worked, the last time she saw it, it was cluttered with so many e-mails that it was running slower than a Commodore….

Smiling a wicked grin, she began channeling through the web for as many links as she was able to access as she said, "You don't want to accept my passwords? Fine! Maybe you'd be interested in getting a Master's degree online instead?"

* * *

Back in the physical world, they couldn't see what Grace was doing, but they could see the results. Victor wasn't tracking Jaime as quickly as he had been, wasn't reacting as smartly to Jaime's sudden change of direction.

_Now is the time, Jaime Reyes! We must take the opportunity to hack into the cyborg's mind and disable the automated defenses!_ Scarab announced.

"You got it, hombre!" Jaime agreed.

Jaime knew that even if it was tracking him slower now, it wasn't likely to miss at point blank range, and he didn't want anyone to get accidentally blasted if it started to fire indiscriminately. Figuring it must be relying on line-of-sight, Jaime dropped down to low altitude and started to fly around the block. Of course it was a child's trick, and even the simplest ones would expect the one using it to come around the corner behind them. That's why when he was about halfway around he reversed direction and few back the way he'd came. Sure enough, the system manipulating Victor had him targeting the other corner and now was presenting him with Victor's back.

"Behind you, imbécil!" Jaime crowed as he grabbed the back of Victor's head and then let the Scarab's tech do the rest.

* * *

"…and you're so uptight, I thought you might appreciate some cheap Viagra!" Grace gloated as she continued her e-bomb campaign. As she was looking for something else to throw against it, she heard a noise behind her that made her 'skin' crawl. As she looked behind her, she felt that if she was flesh and blood there, then she'd need a change of undergarments right then and there.

There was one thing that she hated more than anything else in the world, even more than Luthor (and that was a mean feat to accomplish), and that was spiders! If anyone even showed her a tiny, harmless garden spider, then she'd run screaming into the next room! This thing, however, appeared to be the size of a 2-story house with an attached garage!

Now the rational part of her brain told her that it was not a spider but actually a scarab, a type of beetle. However, the rest of her brain was screaming _SPIDER!_ So she dived to the ground away from the thing she was working on, curled into a ball, covered her head and closed her eyes. As a result, she didn't see what happened, but she could hear the horrible, inhuman squeals of something dying.

* * *

As Jaime felt the armor disengage the link with Victor's, he heard Scarab announce, It is done! Sure enough, Victor stopped struggling and lowered his arm, which changed back from a cannon into a hand. "Thanks man, I'm okay now!" Victor said gratefully, "What about Grace?"

_The Grace cyber-entity is unharmed,_ Scarab announced, _but she seemed to be unnerved by the form I take in cyberspace._

As Jaime relayed what Scarab had said, Victor asked in concern, "Grace? Are you okay?"

Listening carefully, Jaime could hear Grace's faint whispering, _Never again! Never again! Never again! Never again!..._

Trying again, Victor said, "Hello? Grace!"

Finally snapping out of her fear-induced shock, Grace said, _Huh? Is it over?_

"Yes," Jaime affirmed, "It worked, thanks to you."

"Are you okay?" Victor asked her, "You were kind of freaking out there."

_Yes, I'm fine,_ Grace said, trying to regain her composure, _I've just got this bad fear of spiders._

_I am a scarab, not a spider!_ Scarab stated in a way that it almost sounded insulted.

_Yes, I know,_ Grace acknowledged, _but my phobia didn't._

Victor, who apparently couldn't help laughing, said, "You show no fear in the face of numerous armed guards, but you freak out in the presence of a little spider?"

_Hey!_ Grace protested, _He was a ginormous spider, or scarab…_

Jaime couldn't help laughing at the exchange, then said, "Say, Grace, do you think that we'll ever get to meet you?"

_I truly hope so!_ Grace said eagerly,_ I would like…_

At her sudden silence, Victor asked in concern, "Grace? What's wrong?"

_My body's waking up!_ Grace said agitatedly, _I can't let this link be discovered! I have to go!_

"Is there anything we can do?" Jaime asked.

After a moment's pause, Grace said, _Find me! Rescue me!_ Then she went silent again, and this time he couldn't feel her presence again, and judging by the look on Victor's face he couldn't either.

* * *

It took some time to convince the local police to allow Jaime to take Victor up to Watchtower rather than taking him in. Jaime was surprised that Batman wasn't as hard a sell, although he did insist that Jaime wait 30 minutes to bring him up. When they emerged from the Zeta Tube, he saw that Batman had took the time to summon virtually every heavy-hitter he could find to await their arrival (with the exception of Captain Marvel, apparently it was way after Billy's bedtime). They wasted no time in escorting Victor to the lab to ensure that no trace of the controller programming remained and that there was no hardware to serve that purpose.

As Dr. Palmer was performing his analysis, Batman escorted Bart in and asked, "Is he like the cyborgs you saw in 2056?"

Cocking his head to one side, Bart said, "Not exactly. The ones I saw were much more human in appearance."

Victor smiled a lopsided smile as he said, "Well, I kinda left before the exterior body work was done. I didn't care for their reupholstery ideas," Victor added tapping the side of his head.

Batman nodded and said, "We'll be sure to check out the place you were 'worked on', but knowing Luthor there will not likely be much left there to find."

Dr. Palmer finished his analysis, announcing, "It looks like you're clean. We'd like to keep you under observation for a few days, just to be sure, but I think we can let you contact your parents as soon as the morning."

"Thanks, Doc." Victor replied, then turned towards the others and said, "If you guys would let me, I'd like to help out too. I'm itching to give Luthor some payback for what he tried to do, and I really want to help Grace out too."

"Your predecessor?" Batman asked for confirmation, "The one you said that activated you prematurely so you could escape full reprogramming?"

Victor nodded and stood as he added, "She risked everything to ensure I wouldn't become Luthor's tin soldier, it's the least I can do to rescue her from the same fate."

Aqualad extended his hand as he said, "Since you're still technically a minor I will have to discuss it with your parents to ask their permission, and we will have to decide on your admission as a group, but I would be glad to have you on the Team, Victor."

Victor took the offered hand and shook it, saying, "Thanks, and please: call me Cyborg!"

* * *

As Batman left the Lab, Superman followed right behind, saying "Something's bothering you Bruce, I can tell."

Batman continued walking as he responded, "A female cyborg made with entirely earthen technology: Clark, we both know someone who matches that description."

"We can't be sure that it is her," Superman countered, "It could be someone else."

"Unlikely," Batman argued, "The fact that 'Grace' and 'Mercy' are synonyms, and that it rhymes with her last name Graves, is too strong a coincidence to be simply dismissed."

"You think it might be a trap," Superman observed.

"I always think it's a trap," Batman replied, "that's part of what keeps me alive when facing opponents who can snap me in two without much effort."

"And if it isn't?" Superman asked, "If this Grace is telling the truth?"

"There's no real way to tell if the original personality is actually preserved once they're put through the full cybernetic process," Batman reasoned, "and even if it was, even if Grace is telling the truth, I see two possible scenarios here if she is actually Mercy's human mind. One: Mercy had deliberately allowed her to escape and free Victor, knowing that he, as well as anyone else who he manages to convince to come along, would return to save 'Grace' when her existence is threatened later. Two: Mercy was, in fact, unaware of the leak in Grace's containment, but will likely discover it soon thanks to the incident with Victor, which will lead to the same conclusion."

"So what do you believe we should do about it?" Superman asks.

"In all honesty, I currently see no good way to go about it," Batman replies, "Far as I can see right now, the best recourse is to do nothing about her."

"Bruce!" Superman objected.

"It's probably the best way to win the war against the Light, maybe the only way," Batman explained, "If it turns out Grace is not Mercy Graves, then we'll go on to figure out how to help her then. However, if my deduction about her identity is correct and we go to 'save' her regardless, then we could be viewed as assaulting the acting head chair of LexCorp. Godfrey and Luthor will use that to further their agendas and have the VRA passed into effect, then we would likely be put at too great a disadvantage to have any chance of stopping them. You tell me, Clark, is one person, who may not really be still 'alive' anyway, worth the likelihood of losing this war?"

Superman opened his mouth several times to argue, only to close it again when he couldn't come up with anything.

Batman, figuring he made his point, continued, "It's best to not tell the kids anything, especially Victor. They'll certainly want to go regardless of the odds or outcome. And you don't have to worry about any negative feedback: I'll take the heat on this one, since I'm certainly on my way out anyway."

And with that, Batman continued on to the monitoring room, leaving Superman standing in the hall alone.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in LexCorp's main office Mercy Graves was just wrapping up the details on the latest situation. Having been woken from sleep mode by a call from the production facility in El Paso, during which they apprised her of the situation and assured that clean-up is nearing completion, Mercy concluded that one more call would be needed tonight.

Dialing a number that is sent through a number of servers to make it untraceable and untappable, it rang twice before it's picked up on the other end and Lex Luthor's grumpy voice said, "Are you aware of what time it is? This better be important."

"Sorry to wake you sir," Mercy responded, "but I thought you should know that the prototype has escaped from El Paso and is now in enemy hands."

"What!?" Lex barked, "How?"

"Unknown," Mercy replied, "The prototype was revived prematurely my means which we are unclear of at this time, then it forced its way past the guards and made its way into the town, where Blue Beetle disabled the auto-defense systems. Afterwards, they're reported to have gone to Watchtower."

After muttering for a bit, Lex asked, "How far along in completion was it?"

"Weapons were fully functional, and the power output seems to match projected estimates," Mercy answers, "Epidermis was not yet applied, nor was the AI control system."

"And the Trojan Horse?" Lex asks.

"The defensive virus was installed during the initial programming of the prototype's systems." Mercy replies.

"That's something, at least," Lex said, "If the League follows their predicable protocol, then they'll scan it to ensure there's no remaining control programming, possibly even try to obtain some useful information from it. When they do, the virus will infect their systems undetected for a few hours, then it'll melt down their servers, taking Watchtower, their most important piece, out of play. In the meantime, I want all available resources dedicated to finding out how the prototype got loose in the first place. We need to plug that leak if we're to proceed to the next phase of the operation."

"Right away, sir!" Mercy confirmed as she hung up the phone.

* * *

Meanwhile, In the cyberspace within Mercy's head, Grace (who does appear to be a younger version of Mercy) is pounding on the force-field like walls of her cube shaped virtual prison as she cried out, "Please! You can't do this to me! This is my body! Let me out of here! Please! Victor, Jaime, anyone: Help me!"

End Of Chapter


	9. 9) Purge

**Purge**

**November 25th, 2016  
7:38 AM**

Mercy hesitated approximately 23.975 nanoseconds as she considered the options. She knew from past analysis that he did not take bad news well, and that he was going to be less then pleased with what she had learned. On the other hand, if she tried to conceal the information while she tried to handle it herself then it would be much worse, infinitely so if she failed in her objective. Then she picked up the phone and dialed.

The phone rang twice before it was picked up. "You do seem to enjoy disrupting my sleep as of late," Luthor groused, "What is it?"

"Sorry to wake you sir, but we have completed our analysis," Mercy stated.

"And?" Luthor prompted.

"The one who authorized the activation of the weapon prototype," Mercy explained, "I apologize sir, but it appears that it was me."

"You?" Luthor asked disbelievingly, "Mercy, if you're calling me this early in the morning to practice your emulating human humor, especially after such a late night wake-up call…"

"This is no joke," Mercy countered, "The authorization was one specifically held by me and me alone."

"I see," Luthor replied thoughtfully, sounding more awake, "is it possible that some hacker had somehow stumbled upon your code while activating it?"

"Extremely unlikely," Mercy disagreed, "For my authorization to be recognized by that system, it would have to match my unique diagnostic profile with the code, which is very long and complex. Sir, I believe that my original may be responsible."

"Your….original," Lex said simply.

"The original consciousness that inhabited this body," Mercy explained, "the mind that was preserved so that this unit may blend in seamlessly into human society, it appears that she has been utilizing my lessened security that occurs during sleep mode to reach out through weak points that had developed in the containment in her sector and access my w-fi transmitter."

"I see," Luthor stated.

"What's more is that it appears that she was the one who had leaked information that made the League suspicious of Cadmus Labs," Mercy continued.

"That would make sense," Luthor agreed, "Tell me, have you gathered all the necessary data you need from that consciousness?"

"I've catalogued 14,365 responses to various situations," Mercy answered, "While I may not be able to have enough to respond appropriately to every situation, I can respond to most well enough. Besides, it is my understanding that the heads of certain large companies are regarded as somewhat inhuman anyway."

"Then the rest is of little use," Luthor stated, "I want you to report to the labs right away and commence a full purge of that sector. With the Light's plans so close to completion, we can't allow anything to interfere, let alone a little girl who should have faded into the cybernetic background long ago."

"As you command, sir," Mercy said as she hung up the phone, then she picked it back up again as she dialed another number

* * *

As Victor tried to sleep, an urgent but familiar voice rang out in his head. "Please, Victor! I need you to wake up now!"

Cyborg sat straight up as if his veins had suddenly been shot full of pure caffeine. As the voice sighed, "Thank goodness!" Cyborg grumped, "Grace? I hope that this is not going to be a regular thing with you now."

"Sorry about the impromptu wake-up call, but I need your help!" Grace said urgently.

Losing all of his sleepy grumpiness, Cyborg asked concernedly, "What is it Grace? What's wrong?"

"They found out, Victor!" Grace said, "About my helping you escape, about Cadmus! Luthor and Mercy found out I was behind it and are going to have me deleted now! Here are my coordinates!"

As Cyborg saw the coordinates appear on his HUD, he said, "I don't understand, who's Mercy?"

"She's the AI that's controlling my body and keeping my mind locked away!" Grace hurriedly explained, "My real name is Mer…" Grace is interrupted by a brief burst of static that is followed by a synthesized voice similar to Grace's saying, "**UNAUTHORIZED TRANSMISSION DETECTED. TERMINATING CONNECTION.**"

"Grace?" Cyborg called out on the verge of panic. "Grace!?" But Cyborg didn't hear anything other than the hum of the electricity within the walls. Checking his HUD, Victor saw that the coordinates were still there, 'though he saw that they were now moving at a steady pace. Victor wished that they hadn't been cut off so quickly, he didn't even know where or when Luthor's pet mad scientists were going to electronically exterminate her! Did he have 4 hours, 2, less? Victor hated to go loose cannon practically on the day that he promised to be a team player, but he had a feeling that they didn't have time to discuss this in a committee! The time it could take to come up with a plan could end up being one minute more than what she had!

Victor took a moment before he decided to head towards the hangar rather than the Zeta Tubes, as he had played a few flying games and figured whatever spacecraft the League used would be easier to figure out than the tubes, and he didn't have time to go over land should he get the landing site wrong.

As he raced along the corridors, Blue Beetle spotted him go past and flew to catch up as he asked, "Victor, what's up hombre?"

"Grace is in trouble!" Cyborg explained without slowing, "She said that Luthor found out that she set me loose, so now he's gonna get rid of her!"

"iDios mio! This is terrible! We must go tell the others!" Blue Beetle cried out.

"There isn't time for that!" Cyborg countered without missing a beat, "If we don't go now, there might not be anything left of her to save!"

"We can't just go off half cocked, hermano!" Blue Beetle reasoned, "That's how costly mistakes are made, just ask Flash, Nightwing or Aqualad!"

"I understand if you feel you have to go back and tell the others, I won't hold it against you, friend," Cyborg replied, "But I can't sit around while she is being permanently deleted! She put her life in danger saving mine, I can't do any less in return!"

"iAve Maria purisima!" Blue Beetle exclaimed, "I can't let you go and storm a LexCorp facility alone, that'd be practically handing you back to them on a silver platter! Guess I'm coming with you!"

Cyborg smiled lopsidedly as he said, "Thanks man!" Then he smacked bro-fists with Blue Beetle.

A few yards from the hanger entrance, Cyborg and Blue Beetle skidded to a halt. Blocking the path ahead of them were Superboy and Miss Martian.

"Connor, Megan?" Blue Beetle asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Super-hearing, remember?" Superboy said while tapping his right ear, " 'Though I didn't need it to hear Cyborg stomping through the halls like Mecha Godzilla."

Before either Cyborg or Blue Beetle could come up with anything to say in response. Superboy smiled slightly as he said, "If you want to cause trouble for Luthor, then count me in!"

"Me too! I owe him big after what he did to Connor!" Miss Martian added, "What are we going after?"

"We're going to going to stop Luthor from digitally erasing someone's mind, which would be the same as killing her!" Cyborg explained as they started moving towards the hangar bay again, "She'd first introduced herself as Grace when we didn't know each other very well, but she started to say that her real name was Mer-something before we got cut off."

Before they got to the door to the hangar bay, it opened to reveal Batman standing behind it, who clarified, "That would be Miss Mercy Graves."

Everyone is startled by the sudden appearance of Batman, even Superboy, whose powerful senses apparently failed to pick him up. As everyone tried to recover themselves, Batman crosses his arms in front of his chest as he asks, "Going out for a little unauthorized excursion?"

While Blue Beetle stammers, "Well, uh, you see sir…" Superboy interjects, "Wait….'Mercy', as in that robotic bodyguard that was always around Luthor?"

Batman nodded as he expanded, "Former assistant, former bodyguard and, since Luthor's appointment to Secretary General, now acting CEO of LexCorp Enterprises."

"So wait," Blue Beetle says to Cyborg, "The damsel in distress you want to go rescue is in the body of the one running Evil Inc.?"

"I have a better one," Superboy said glaring at Batman, "like the fact that Batman apparently knew that it was Mercy but didn't feel like sharing with the rest of the class."

As the rest of them turn their attention back to Batman, he corrected, "I had my suspicions since Cyborg's descriptions of the events last night, and what you kids said tonight confirmed it. As for 'not sharing', my objective was to avoid exactly this sort of impulsive action. If a member of the League or any known hero associated with them is observed assaulting the head of a major corporation like LexCorp without proof of criminal activity, that could likely be enough to convince the public that Godfrey's claims of the 'hero menace' are valid, as well as provide Luthor the justification to put the VRA into effect."

"I don't care! If saving someone's life makes me into a criminal, then slap my face onto a wanted poster and put a bounty on my head!" Cyborg said, "Besides, I have yet to be 'officially' recognized as a member of this team or even as a hero, so it's not like you can stop me."

"Uh, dude," Blue Beetle said nervously, "the last person who said Batman couldn't stop them wound up in traction!"

"I'd like to see him try," Cyborg said determinedly as he changed his arm into a sonic cannon.

Just then, the bright lights in Watchtower's corridors go dark and are replaced by the duller red of the emergency lighting.

"What did you do?" Batman asks suspiciously.

"Dude, you blaming us?" Cyborg counters angrily.

Before anyone can come up with anything else to say, the broken voice of Watchtower's computer is heard over the intercom saying, "W-w-w-warning-g-g: dangerous virus-us-us detected in mainframe-ame-ame! I-i-isolating main cor-r-re, s-s-switching over to emergency r-r-r-reserves!"

"It must have been piggybacked in your systems and been designed to attack unfamiliar systems that interact with them," Batman said to Cyborg.

"I don't understand," Blue beetle stated, "I was the first one to 'interact' with Victor's systems and I'm feeling fine."

_Actually, Jaime Reyes,_ Scarab interjected, _I had been attacked by a primitive computer virus earlier, but I was able to crush it without incident._

"Dude!" Blue Beetle says to the Scarab, "Why didn't you tell me?"

_I felt no need to cause you alarm, Jamie Reyes,_ Scarab responded, _the virus was primitive, the attack weak. I believed it to be a common state of your primitive technology._

"Dude, must you always talk to us like we're primitive cavemen?" Blue Beetle chided.

_It's just a fact that you are in comparison,_ friend Jaime Reyes, the scarab relied, sounding almost apologetic, _there was no offense intended._

Blue Beetle sighed then said, "Scarab says he got infected too, but he dealt with it okay. Looks like you theory pans out, Bats."

"Well I still have to go regardless," Cyborg interjected, "I can't wait for the lights to be fixed before I go to save Grace, or Mercy, or whatever her name is!"

"Don't you think that maybe this is their plan?" Batman suggested, squinting his eyes at Cyborg, "To lure some of us down to the planet, then attack Watchtower while its defenses are down?"

"I don't care what their plans may be!" Cyborg argued, "This is just a place, it can be replaced. Grace can't be, and I'm sure that you have measures in place to ensure whatever secrets that are kept here remain secret! Besides, I hear that you're such a badass that you took Superman down a number…"

The argument was broken up by the frantic clicking and beeping of Mother Box, who had ridden in on Superboy's arm. Looking down at it, Superboy asks, "Are you sure?" After another series of pings, Superboy nods and says, "Okay." The then removes it from his arm and hands it over to Batman, saying, "Mother Box says she'll here and help you restore Watchtower's systems while we rescue Grace/Mercy."

Looking down at the Mother Box in Superboy's hand, Batman asks, "Are you sure that you want to leave her with me? I know what she means to you."

"No," Superboy admitted, "but she's insistent, says she wants to help." After another series of pings, Superboy adds with a slight smirk, "Oh yeah, that's right. She also says she wants to keep an eye on you. She warns that if you 'try anything funny', then she'll 'scramble your DNA so much, you'll have to change your name to Batwoman'."

"Cute," Batman said humorlessly as he accepted the offered Mother Box.

"You should stay here too," Superboy says to Miss Martian, "I'm sure that once they realize that the communications are down, the ones who can will come back as soon as they're able, but Batman and Mother Box will need someone to watch their backs in case Watchtower's attacked while the system's being restored."

"Okay," Miss Martian said with reluctance, "just be careful Connor!"

"Same to you, Megs!" Superboy replied as he hugs her quickly.

"One moment," Batman interjects, "While Cyborg may be a good candidate for the mission he's chosen for himself, due to his not yet having been active, the rest of you are far too recognizable."

After considering for a bit, Superboy removes his shirt and turns it inside out before putting it back on, so the S shield is not visible. Then he reaches past Batman to grab a white cloth from a worktable and ties it around the top of his head like a bandanna, covering his eyes. Finally he uses his heat vision to burn a couple of eye holes in the makeshift mask.

Meanwhile, after having a talk with the Scarab, Jaime concentrates and changes the configuration of the armor to take on the appearance of a form fitting, metallic body suit that's black with blue highlights, and no other distinguishing marks.

"Do you believe those disguises will work?" Batman asks.

Before anyone can answer, Bart comes racing up the corridor saying, "Hey, what happened? I woke up and the lights are out! And who are the new guys with Cyborg?"

"Well enough," Superboy answered Batman as he pushed his way past him, "Fill Bart in while we're out, we'll be back soon."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the cyberspace that exists within the mind of the mind of the cyborg Mercy, the younger personification of her human self watches helplessly from her cell as the AI controlling her body drives through the busy streets of Metropolis towards their destination.

"Please!" young Mercy begs her unseen captor, her face streaked with tears, "Don't do this to me!"

**"YOUR PLEA IS IRRELEVENT,"** the AI responds from all around her,** "YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR CURENT PREDICAMENT. HAD YOU ACCEPTED YOUR CONDITION, YOUR ESSENCE COULD HAVE BEEN CONTINUED TO BE PRESERVED. YOUR EFFORTS TO UNDERMINE THE PLANS OF LUTHOR AND HIS ALLIES HAVE RENDERED YOUR ELIMINATION NECESSARY.**"

"Can't you just, maybe, pretend that you had me erased?" Mercy reasons in desperation, "Just let me live and I would behave from now on?"

"**YOUR ATTEMPT TO SWAY MY COURSE OF ACTION IS ILLOGICAL.**" the AI answers her, **"I HAVE NO HUMAN EMOTIONS, AND SO NO SYMPATHIES FOR YOU TO PREY ON. AND, UNLIKE YOU, I AM LOYAL TO MASTER LUTHOR, AND HE HAS ORDERED FOR YOU TO BE ERASED, SO YOU SHALL BE.**"

"Please!" Mercy cried out, looking all around her in desperation, "Someone, anyone, help me!"

"**YOUR ENTREATIES ARE ILLOGICAL.**" the AI says in response, "**NOBODY CAN HEAR YOUR 'VOICE', NO ONE KNOWS YOU'RE THERE, THERE IS NOBODY COMING FOR YOU.**"

* * *

In its position of high orbit the passage of Watchtower is observed by Sinestro and the four corpsmen with him.

"Ugh, this makes me wish that their cloak was still working: the League didn't even change the station's style!" Seer Ruggle grumbled, "I know that the Guardians have no taste, but you'd think that a diverse group like the Justice League would've done some remodeling once they took it off those blue freaks' hands!"

"I UNDERSTAND THAT NOT TOO MANY OF THE LEAGUE MEMBERS CAN FUNCTION IN DEEP SPACE WITHOUT THE AID OF SPECIAL SUITS OR SHIPS," Tekik countered, "SINCE IT SERVED THEIR PURPOSES, AND ITS CLOAK HID IT FROM VIEW MOST OF THE TIME ANYWAY, IT'S LIKELY THEY SIMPLY SAW NO NEED TO GO THROUGH THE TROUBLE OF PERFORMING ANY EXTERIOR REMODELING."

"Ugh, I can't stand the sight of it anymore! I want to blow it up right now!" Seer Ruggle grumped to Sinestro, "Can I? Please?"

"Patience, Seer," Sinestro said calmly, "In time, you'll get your chance to perform your pyrotechnic arts. First though, we need to infiltrate their base to obtain the information that the Light requires to win their war and ensure control over their planet."

"I still don't see why you have allied us with the light," Sn'Hoj countered, "seeing as how you're always saying our mandate is to restore order to the galaxy."

"That's exactly why, Sn'Hoj," Sinestro explained, "The Guardians have failed to live up to the obligation they placed on themselves to maintain order through the power of willpower. Where they failed, we will succeed through the power of fear. I believe that the Light and their allies will be able to maintain order on this planet. Should they fail, or if they end up only creating chaos and anarchy, then we'll intercede at that time."

"Whatever you say, sir," Snaptrap said, "so long as I get to feed on the spines of some strong fighters. I'm tired of only feeding off of spineless cowards!"

"You'll have to curb your appetite for a while longer, Snaptrap," Sinestro warned, "Each of us has a job to do, yours is to help me keep busy whatever defenders they had stationed up there at the time of the blackout, while Sn'Hoj ensures that the communications array and Zeta Tubes remain nonoperational."

"So long as I get to keep the tech I take, that plan works for me," Sn'Hoj agreed.

"Meanwhile, Tekik will download the information from the computer core and Seer will plant her bombs." Sinestro continued, "Once Tekik has the info, we'll all leave and Watchtower will be destroyed."

"At least I'll get to have my fun at some point," Seer said, "That's something at least."

"THE PLAN SEEMS SOUND, BUT WOULD IT NOT HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF SUCCESS IF WE BROUGHT MORE CORP MEMBERS WITH US?" Tekik asked.

"It might have," Sinestro agreed, "But since we had picked a fight with the Guardians and their dogs earlier, it would be unwise to leave Qward with inadequate defense. Besides, a larger force might have been picked up on their long-range scanners, and they might have gotten a distress call out before their systems went down."

"THE LOGIC IS SOUND, I CAN FIND NO MORE FAULT WITH IT," Tekik stated.

"If there are no more questions, then let's get on with the mission," Sinestro ordered, "The sooner this mission is complete, the sooner we can return to a more civilized corner of the galaxy."

* * *

Back in the Bio-ship, Superboy (in his disguise) is in the pilot's seat, guiding the ship through the atmosphere while Cyborg calls out course adjustments.

"She's slowing down now," Cyborg announced, "Either she hit a bad traffic jam, or she's nearing her destination."

"When we get there, we should avoid talking as much as possible, as our voices may give us away," Superboy said, "but if we have to say anything, then we need to avoid saying each other's names

at all costs."

"Perhaps we could come up with some code names?" Blue Beetle suggested.

"You guys could call me 'Rock' or 'The Rock'," Cyborg offered.

"I'll be Azul," suggested Blue Beetle.

After thinking for a moment, Superboy said, "Call me Tommy."

" 'Tommy'?" Blue Beetle asked, confused.

"As in Tommy Terror," Superboy explained, "I went undercover as him a few years ago, and our power sets are similar. If anyone was to get in trouble over this, might as well be someone who deserves it."

"No offense, hermano, but I don't think you'll fool anyone into thinking that you're him," Blue beetle countered as gently as he could, "I mean, sure it worked a few years ago, but he's changed a lot since then and you, well, haven't."

"While it would've been nice to see him take the fall for what we're going to do," Superboy said, "In the end it's only a code name, nothing more."

"Now that we've got that settled, we should get ready," Cyborg stated, "It appears as though they've reached their destination, as her coordinates she's now leaving the road and entering a nearby building. If the calculations I'm seeing are accurate, it looks that at this rate we'll get there in about twelve minutes."

* * *

Back in Watchtower's computer core chamber, Batman is briefing the few who were still there on the situation. "Moments ago, Watchtower's short-range scanners detected five energy signatures matching the energy of the rings wielded by Sinestro and his Corp of Yellow Lanterns. Judging by the small size of the group, their goal is either sabotage or theft of information from the computer's core, most likely both."

Guardian looked over at his girlfriend Bumblebee (both of whom had come up to see Bart just before the systems went down) then turned back towards Batman and asked "Sabotage? The lights are off, the Zeta Tubes are down, the computer's talking like a record that was scratched by an incompetent DJ, what's left for them to sabotage?"

"They're likely looking to make the situation permanent," Batman said simply.

"Oh," Guardian said simply as Bumblebee put her hand on his shoulder and asked Batman, "What can we do?"

"As one of their primary goals is to get at the computer core, I'll need you all to stop them, to slow them down while Mother Box and I work to reverse the damage that the virus had caused," Batman explained, "It's likely that they may be too powerful for a direct confrontation for some of you, but do what you can to prevent them from getting here or causing irreparable damage to Watchtower. With luck, some of the others will realize something's wrong and will return in time to help, or Superboy and those with him will finish their mission quickly, but until then I'm counting on you."

"W-w-warning, int-t-t-truders detected in the hangar bay-ay-ay," Watchtower's computer announced.

"Stay safe, stay alive, good luck to us all," Batman dismissed them all as they left the room and split up down the different hallways, then he set Mother Box upon the console and got to work.

* * *

Back on Earth, Cyborg descends from the Bio-Ship using the harness line provided while Blue Beetle and Superboy fly down to the building's roof, then Superboy sends a signal telling the Bio-Ship to close it's lower doors, rendering it completely invisible to human sight.

"All right, then," Blue Beetle asked, "which way?"

Checking his display, Cyborg announced, "Straight down,"

Blue Beetle had Scarab hack into the roof door's security lock, then they all raced through the open door.

* * *

Back at Watchtower, Bart Races into the Zeta Tube room to see Sn'Hoj dismantling one of the Zeta Tubes with a maniacal glee.

"Hey!" Bart yells at the enemy Lantern, "Do you know how much those things cost?"

Sn'Hoj swings several of his razor thin tentacle-like appendages in an overhead arc at a speed that would've turned most beings into a bloody mass on the floor before they could blink. Bart's speed, however, allows him to easily sidestep the attack unharmed as he continues, "Seriously, do you know, because I sure don't. At any rate, I'm sure that it's a lot more than you or I can get together anytime soon."

As Sn'Hoj tries his attack again, Bart begins racing around the room, dodging his jabbing and slashing strikes while lobbing taunts and making sport of his light constructs. The confrontation, while intense and frantic, only lasts less than two minutes. At that point, Bart stops in front of Sn'Hoj, whose appendages are tangled together in a series of incredible knots, and says, "And that's why most smart people eat their spaghetti with a fork _and_ knife." Then Bart grabs one of Sn'Hoj's appendages and runs in a quick circle around him, leaving him looking like a coil of wires and stripping him of his Qwardian Power Ring as he does so.

"I have to go see if any of your other friends want to play now. Later!" Bart taunted as he raced off, leaving Sn'Hoj flopping helplessly on the floor and screeching in incoherent rage.

* * *

Elsewhere, in one of Watchtower's corridors, Guardian is silently but quickly patrolling the passageways when suddenly he has to roll to dodge a nightmare light construct shot down his way. As he regains his feet, he sees Snap Trap ahead of him, who chuckles and says, "I know Sinestro said I should curb my appetite on this mission, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I had me a quick snack."

As Snap Trap fixed his hypnotic gaze on him, Guardian's mind became cloudy. He couldn't remember what he had been doing there just moments before, why he shouldn't simply be simply walking towards this alien totally unprepared to defend himself.

Just before he was within lunging range of Snap Trap's enormous jaws, the Yellow Lantern is peppered with miniature laser blasts that had him howling in pain. As Guardian came to, he saw Snap Trap flick out his long tongue and try to catch his girlfriend Bumblebee like a frog catching a fly.

"Hey!" Guardian yells as he swings his shield to pin Snap Trap's tongue between the wall and his shield's edge, "Nobody gives my girl the tongue but me!"

"Ugh, Mal!" Bumblebee groans as she wipes off Snap Trap's slobber off her from her near miss, then swings around for another pass, "You think we can be just a little less juvenile while we're fighting for our lives here?"

"Sorry about that, girl! I guess I'm not quite as good at witty wisecracks as Kid Flash or Beast Boy," Guardian apologized as Snap Trap freed his tongue and Mal ended up having to use his shield to defend himself against the Lantern's light constructs, "I just hope that the others are having better luck than we are!"

* * *

Back on Earth, Mercy is lying on a table as scientists strap her limbs to it and open a panel on the back of her skull. "Are you sure about this, Miss Graves?" the elder scientist asks her in concern, "This procedure….it's not exactly the kind that can be reversed if you change your mind later."

"Spare me your concern, doctor," Mercy replies coolly, "I'm fully aware of what it is I'm doing. Proceed."

"Very well," The elder scientist acknowledges as he reaches for a cable and prepares to hook it up to the exposed port.

At that moment, Blue Beetle, Superboy and Cyborg burst through one of the lab's doors. Then, while Superboy quickly closes the door behind them and holds it closed against the crush of bodies on the other side demanding to be let in, Blue Beetle changes one arm into a plasma cannon and fires it into a console a couple feet from the nearest scientist as he yells, "Get out!"

The scientists, in their panic, comply as they flee out the other door. As soon as the last one is gone, Blue Beetle slams it closed behind them and, changing his weapon configuration again, fires a series of giant metal staples into it, sealing the door closed.

Meanwhile, Mercy had broken the restraint holding her cybernetic arm down and, changing it into its weapon configuration, fires it at Superboy. As Cyborg charges in to block the shot, taking it on the armored exterior of his cybernetic arm, Superboy calls out, "Hey Azul! Give 'The Rock' a hand, won't you?"

"Sure thing, Tommy!" Blue Beetle responds as he finishes securing his door, then he rushes over and pins Mercy's cyborg arm to the table while he secures it with his staples, then he proceeds to do the same with her other limbs.

"Great!" Superboy says as he continues to hold his door, "Now come help me with this door!"

"You got it!" Blue Beetle replied.

As Cyborg and Blue Beetle swap positions, Mercy, who is struggling to get free, cries out, "Whatever you kids are planning, you won't get away with it!"

Cyborg, whose arm had changed configuration, answers her, "What we're 'planning' is to take a prisoner from your custody." Then he plugs his arm into the still exposed port on the back of her skull.

* * *

Inside the cyberspace within Mercy's head, the younger Mercy perked up when she saw Cyborg materialize outside of her cell, "Victor! You came here for me!"

"Of course!" Cyborg said as he changed the arm of his avatar to a sonic cannon, "I couldn't leave you at the mercy of the cyber-Gestapo here, especially after you saved me from this fate!"

"**A FOOLISH MISTAKE HUMAN,**" Cyber-Mercy said in response, the voice ringing out from all around them, "**ONE I DID NOT BELIEVE THAT YOUR SPECIES WAS CAPABLE OF.**" As Cyborg swung from side to side, trying to pinpoint the location of the voice, dozens of Mercys materialize in a ring around them, all of them changing their arms into weapons mode and aiming them at him as they said in unison, "**BUT THAT IS A MISTAKE THAT IS EASILY RECTIFIED.**"

"Oh yeah?" Cyborg retorted, "Well you may be the queen of this cyberspace, but you're forgetting the most important distinction between us! You're merely an Apple computer in comparison, whereas I…" Cyborg took aim and powered up his sonic cannon as he finished, "…I'm an iMac!"

Cyborg fired off three rapid fire shots, vaporizing three Mercys and critically damaging a fourth. As Cyborg dodged the hail of blaster fire coming from the Mercy avatars, the AI put up walls to try and block his path. However, Cyborg decided to use that to his advantage as he took cover behind the walls as he took down even more of the murderous avatars.

When he saw some of the avatars he took down earlier beginning to reform, Cyborg decided that a change of tactics was in order. Dashing out from under cover, Cyborg used a blast from his cannon to take out one of the Mercy avatars' legs, then forced her to blast several of her sisters before using several shots to blow a hole in young Mercy's cell. Then as the damaged Mercy avatar started to change its configuration to try and ensnare him and take a chunk out of his neck, Cyborg used his strength to rip her apart with his bare hands.

As the avatars started to reform again, Cyborg rushed over to young Mercy, who was climbing out of the breach in her cell, and snatched her up in a bridal carry as he cried out, "Hang on, girl! We're out of here!" Then Cyborg and Mercy vanish just as a barrage of blaster fire pass through where they were just moments ago.

* * *

Back in the physical world, Cyborg stirs again, disconnecting his arm from the back of Mercy's head and closing the panel. While the combat in the cyberworld seemed to take close to 20 minutes, in the real world it took place in less than two seconds.

"We're back!" Cyborg gasped, "Are you okay, Mercy?"

"I'm fine, and please: keep calling me Grace," young Mercy responded, her voice ringing out through the sonic resonators in Cyborg's arm, "I'm not sure I want to hear anyone calling me Mercy anymore for as long as I live! Thanks for not placing me in a cell while I'm inside your head, by the way!"

"It's cool!" Cyborg said with a smirk, "I'm sure I can trust you to be an excellent backseat driver until we can get you to some better accommodations!"

"Hey guys, I don't know about you, but I'm not keen on becoming a lab rat again," Superboy interrupted, "so what do you say we continue this cyber-love fest on the way back?"

Cyborg nodded, then changed his arm into a sonic cannon and blew a hole in the ceiling into the upper floor. Then Superboy grabbed Cyborg and flew through it, Blue beetle following behind just as the security detail broke through the door. As they all watched the three heroes get away, Mercy said from her position on the table, "This is not good."

* * *

Later on, back at Watchtower, Seer was having the time of her life! She had planted plenty of bombs to reduce this place to rubble, but it wasn't enough for her: She wanted to obliterate it entirely! She wasn't kidding before when she said this place was an eyesore! Therefore, until Sinestro orders her to return or withdraw, she decided that she'll just keep planting bombs while she still had some assembled, then she'd make more and plant them too!

Having located what she'd figured was the power core for this station, she decided that one or two of her bombs had to go here. Reaching into her bag, Seer pulled out one of her explosives and was about to attach it to the core when she caught a glimpse of a yellow blur. When she blinked and looked at her own hands, the explosive was gone! Looking around, she saw Kid Flash turning the deadly explosive over in his hands and saying with curiosity, "Ooh, what's this?"

"Give that back!" Seer screeched. As she lunged after it, Kid Flash dashed around her and took the bag that held the rest of her bombs!

"You seem rather agitated, so I think I'll hold onto this for you until you calm down!" Kid Flash said with a smile before taking off out the door.

As she flew off after him, she saw him rummaging through her bag at super speed, apparently taking apart her bombs and throwing random pieces everywhere! "Hey, stop that! Leave my babies alone!"

When he rounded the corner, Seer saw that the pieces thrown out were, in fact, not random! They were the explosive charges from her bombs, and they were all armed and ready to blow! And while without the actual explosives they wouldn't to much more to the walls and floor they were stuck to other than scorch them, combined they could do plenty of damage to her! Flying back the way she came, she put up her shield just in time to ward off the worst of the damage.

Coughing in the now smoke-filled corridor, Seer growled, "That boy…!"

Before she could say anything more, a small hologram of Sinestro projected from her ring and he commanded, "Seer, report!"

Clearing her throat and trying to calm her head, Seer said, "I planted a good number of bombs, enough that I feel they'll do the job, but I ran into one of the speedsters who stole and destroyed the rest of my stash."

"Then leave him for now and come here right away," Sinestro commanded, "There's been a slight modification to the plan, and I'll need you and the others to cover me while I complete our objective personally."

Seer grated at the though of letting the speedster get away with what he had done, but orders were orders. "Yes sir!" Seer said, as she flew to where Sinestro was waiting.

* * *

Moments earlier, before Seer had entered the Power Core room, the Bio-ship was approaching Watchtower when Superboy spoke up.

"Sensors are registering unfamiliar energy patterns within Watchtower," Superboy announced, "Judging by its similarity to the wavelength surrounding Hal and Guy, I'm guessing that Sinestro and his boys have paid us a visit. Probably part of why the cloak's not back up yet."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Grace's voice asked from Cyborg's arm, "I may have been a cheerleader before my….condition, but I'm pretty smart. Also, I spent 10 years imprisoned in a computer system, learning how to exploit weakness in my containment field to access the world outside. Maybe I can help get your defenses back online?"

"Well, Watchtower isn't weaponized, but I'm sure that anything you can do to help would be welcome," Superboy answered, "I just hope Megan's alright."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside Watchtower's computer core room, Tekik walks through the door and spots Mother Box on the console in front of him.

"I'VE LOCATED THE STATION'S COMPUTER CORE," Tekik reported, "FROM HERE IT SHOULD BE SIMPLE TO DOWNLOAD THE STATION'S ENTIRE DATABASE."

"Acknowledged, Tekik," Sinestro's voice resonated from Tekik's ring, "Just watch yourself, who knows what defenders will be located nearby."

"THE ONLY THING HERE IS A MOTHER BOX ATTACHED TO THE CONSOLE," Tekik responded, "MOST LIKELY TRYING TO ERASE THE VIRUS AND RESTORE THE DAMAGED SYSTEMS. REGARDLESS, IT WILL BE EASY TO ELIMINATE THE DEVICE AND RETREIVE THE INFO. I'LL REPORT WHEN IT'S COMPLETED, TEKIK OUT."

As he ends the transmission, Tekik aims his ring at the Mother Box. As his ring starts to light up, he suddenly shifts his arm to the side and a light construct shield forms just in time to deflect three batarangs which explode against it.

"I'M DISAPPOINTED, DARK KNIGHT," Tekik says as he turns towards the shadows on that side, "EVEN IF I DID NOT POSSESS ADVANCED SENSORS OF MY OWN, DID YOU THINK THAT SUCH A SNEAK ATTACK WOULD BE ABLE TO WORK AGAINST A WIELDER OF THE MOST POWERFUL AND ADVANCED WEAPON IN THE UNIVERSE?"

"I would have been disappointed if the attack had worked," Batman's voice emerged from the shadows, "I'd hate to think that Sinestro had sent the lowest of his flunkies after the most critical mission objective. As for your ring being the 'most powerful', I've heard it argued that same argument from Hal and the others about theirs."

"IN THE END WE'LL SEE WHETHER FEAR OR WILLPOWER IS THE STRONGER POWER," Tekik stated, "ALTHOUGH YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER, FOR I HEAR THAT YOU USE FEAR AS YOUR WEAPON."

"I do make my enemies fear me," Batman acknowledged, his voice coming from elsewhere, "But I've always felt that my mind is my most powerful asset."

As he finished, another batarang is deflected by another shield. However, when this one explodes the room fills up with smoke.

"DO YOU THINK THAT THIS SMOKE WILL CONCEAL YOU ANY BETTER THAN THE SHADOWS YOU HIDE IN?" Tekik asks.

As Batman's silhouette becomes visible in the foggy room, Batman says, "That's not smoke, it's chaff."

After firing an energy blast at the silhouette to reveal there's nothing there, Tekik cries out, "IT MATTERS NOT! EVEN IF YOU CONCEAL YOURSELF FROM MY SENSORS, YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM THE RING!"

"But how connected are you to it?" Batman asked as he emerged from the fog, "Let's find out!"

As Tekik tries to hit Batman with a spinning back-fist, Batman ducks under it while attempting to sweep Tekik's legs, which he leaps over. A battle then ensues between the two: with Batman using his varied arsenal of weapons and his martial arts, Tekik utilizing his ring and his sheer mechanical strength. As the battle reaches its peak, Batman flips around Tekik's back and tries to use his momentum to judo throw the robotic Lantern, but winds up being the one thrown instead. As Tekik's costume disappears, however, he looks down at his hand ad realizes the true purpose of Batman's maneuver.

"DO YOU THINK THAT BY TAKING MY RING YOU HAVE WEAKENED ME!?" Tekik asks indignantly. "I COULD CRUSH YOUR PATHETICALLY FLESHY BODY EASILY WITHOUT IT, HUMAN!"

"Perhaps," Batman coughs, "but without your ring, how do you propose to protect yourself from the EMP grenade I've planted on your back?"

Turning his head to see the device in question, Tekik only has time to say, "OH." Then the grenade explodes, causing the lights in the room to flicker, and Tekik falls over, apparently lifeless. As Batman walks over to examine the fallen Lantern, the ring he was holding wrenches itself out of his grip as he hears its voice in his head saying,**_ Connection with Lantern Tekik has been severed. _** Then the ring places itself on his finger, causing his costume to change to a similar one that more reflects the stylings of the other Yellow Lanterns, as it adds, **_Bruce Wayne of Earth, you have the ability to instill great fear. Welcome to the Sinestro Corps._**

As Batman felt the power he now held at his command, he finally understood what Hal and John were talking about with these rings being powerful weapons. With this, he could finally make Gotham the utopia he had thought it was before the side he didn't see took his parents from him. With this, not only could he stop all crimes before anybody got hurt, but he could prevent those crimes from even taking place! Everyone would be far too afraid to even think of breaking the…

NO! These weren't his thoughts! It was the ring! It was twisting his line of thinking to be in line with Sinestro's philosophy! As he tried to remove the ring, he heard its voice in his head saying, **_Warning! High levels of willpower detected! Host unsuitable for recruitment! Seeking new potential recruit. _** The ring then removed itself from his hand, causing his costume to revert to its previous state, then it flew through the doorway past Superboy, Blue Beetle and Cyborg, all three of whom were staring at him in utter shock.

"El Murciélago, were you just….a Yellow Lantern!?" Blue Beetle asked somewhat fearfully.

"The ring tried to recruit me," Batman explained simply, "I politely declined."

"And him?" Cyborg asked, gesturing at Tekik.

"The EMP knocked his systems out for a short time," Batman answered, "He should be waking up soon, though, so…"

"On it," Superboy said as he went to the sliding door to the room and ripped it off its tracks. As Connor started bending it around Tekik's inert form, Batman asked the rest of them, "And as for your mission?"

"It was a success!" Cyborg said with a small smile. "We couldn't do anything this time about restoring her control over her body, but we ensured that neither Luthor nor the AI could erase her mind!" Cyborg finished with a tap to the side of his head.

"Yes, thank you, Batman, sir, for letting these boys come to rescue me!" Grace's grateful voice said from within Cyborg's arm.

Batman, who refrained from correcting her, that he hadn't let them go on the mission, simply narrowed his eyes as he said, "Don't mention it."

"And what about Watchtower's systems?" Cyborg asked Batman.

As Mother Box flew from the console to reattach itself to Connor's arm, she beeped and clicked as Connor translated, "She says she managed to eliminate all traces of the virus, but it will take several more days to rebuild the connections within the system to restore basic functionality."

"Several _days!?_" Blue Beetle asked incredulously, "We're already up to our necks in Yellow Lanterns, not to mention we're currently sitting ducks to anyone capable of space travel! Forget days, we won't last several _hours!_"

"Maybe this where I can help," Grace offered, "I may not be as good as a specially designed OS, but I'm sure I can get things going again until the OS is restored."

Glancing at Cyborg's arm, Batman asked, "Are you sure she's up to this?"

Judging by the looks on the faces of Superboy and Cyborg, they at least heard what Batman was really asking: _Can you trust her?_

Narrowing his eyes, Cyborg asks in return, "You got any better options?"

Batman said nothing, but instead tilted his head towards the core. Cyborg then walks over and kneels down beside it. As he reconfigures his arm, Cyborg says softly, "You take it easy in there, okay Grace?"

"It'll be okay, Victor," Grace assured him, "Besides, I've been cooped up for over 10 years: I'm looking forward to the chance to stretch my legs for a bit!"

Cyborg smiles, then he plugs into the open port.

* * *

As Mercy, or Grace, as she preferred to call herself now, looked around the Cyberscape she'd transferred herself to, she saw that it was truly a mess. Though it seemed as though the varied functionality was still intact, the communication between those functions and the control interfaces was utterly eaten away. _Makes sense,_ Grace thought to herself,_ If you want information that your enemy has and want to prevent them from stopping you from getting at it, what would be better than a virus that destroys their ability to stop you and nothing else? _

Thankfully, it seemed that the damage from the virus didn't prevent her from accessing those systems herself. As she concentrated to increase her size, so that she may better reach the systems from across the expanse that separated them, she prioritized those that she should get operational.

_Let's see:_ Grace considered, there's lighting, life support. _ There's that cloak that Blue Beetle mentioned, I should get that going. The Communications and Zeta Transport as well. Hmm….what's this?_ Grace wondered as she puzzled over a folder that looked as though it had not been opened in a while. _Defense systems? But Victor and the others said that this station had no weapons._

As she toggled the folder open, all she found within it was an emerald ring. Wondering what connection a ring would have with "defense systems", She grabbed it and slipped it onto her own finger. Almost instantly, her avatar was clothed in an emerald uniform decorated with an insignia that she recognized instantly.

_Of course!_ Grace thought as the realization came to her,_ Victor and the others said that this station used to belong to the Green Lanterns! And each Lantern generally worked alone or with a single partner to protect a certain quadrant of space, so they obviously would need a way to defend themselves should their home-away-from-home be invaded by hostiles! It doesn't look as though there's much power remaining in this part of the system but…_ Aloud, she said with a smile, "…I could work with this!"

* * *

Meanwhile, as Sinestro silently stalked the darkened corridors, he wondered where everyone was in this place. While it was true that most sentient beings that weren't nocturnal usually would've been asleep prior to the virus disabling the way for most to get up here, that generally applied to civilians, not soldiers dedicated to keeping the peace! That, more than anything, convinced Sinestro that this 'Justice League' was not the right group to keep order on this planet, and that Earth would be better off without them getting in the way of the Light's plans.

As he continued on, Sinestro sensed something just before his ring sent him a silent warning. Quickly creating a mace flail, he swung it around without warning and struck something invisible behind him, which grunted in pain as it smacked into the nearby wall, then fell to the floor. As Miss Martian materialized into visibility, Sinestro used his ring to conjure a cage of yellow flames as he said, "A word of advice, child: When you have the urge to sneak up on someone who's wielding the most powerful weapon in creation, one that's capable of detecting the most minute of energy fluctuations in the open vastness of space; don't."

Before he could decide what to do with this young 'hero', he saw something quite unexpected; a Qwardian Power Ring flying past without its owner, which could mean only one thing…

"Wonder who that belonged to?" Miss Martian asked with a grim smile.

Sinestro didn't have to wonder: a cursory scan of the ring as it passed told him that it was Tekik's. Curiously enough, it appeared that the ring had chosen Batman as Tekik's successor before he rejected it. Perhaps not all these Earth heroes weren't the weaklings he'd thought them to be. But he'd wonder more about that later, for now, he had a mission to try and salvage.

Concentrating, he called out "Sinestro to Sn'Hoj." No response. "Sinestro to Sn'Hoj, come in!" Nothing. Had these heroes gotten to two of his men?

Reaching out again, he called out, "Sinestro to Snap Trap, come in!"

Snap Trap's strained reply came immediately as he said, "What is it? I'm busy!"

"I don't care what you're doing!" Sinestro snapped, "I can't reach Sn'Hoj and we may have lost Tekik, so I need you here now!"

Snap Trap, though fearsome himself, knew better than to argue with Sinestro when he was angry, so he stammered, "Y-y-yes sir!" as he disconnected.

_Damn that glutton!_ Sinestro thought agitatedly,_ if his thinking with his stomach had cost me two of my finest soldiers…_

Concentrating once more, Sinestro called out, "Seer, report!"

Clearing her throat, Seer said, "I planted a good number of bombs, enough that I feel they'll do the job, but I ran into one of the speedsters who stole and destroyed the rest of my stash."

Sinestro sighed as he thought,_ At least something went right._ "Then leave him for now and come here right away," Sinestro commanded, "There's been a slight modification to the plan, and I'll need you and the others to cover me while I complete our objective personally."

Seer hesitated for only a moment before responding, "Yes sir!" Then she disconnected.

As Sinestro's ring told him that they were getting close, they were briefly blinded by the glare of the regular lights coming back on.

While Seer was asking him, "What's going on here?" Sinestro felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, Sinestro saw an unfamiliar young woman with brown eyes, light-brown hair, and wearing a Green Lantern outfit as she smiled and said, "Hi there!" shortly before she gave him a haymaker to his face.

* * *

As Grace knocked Sinestro onto his butt, she had to admit to herself that felt good. She didn't even feel any pain, even though she was certain she'd hit him wrong. _Probably due to the fact that I'm currently controlling a part-hologram, part-Green Lantern energy construct,_ she decided. Despite that this wasn't a real body, however, she could see and hear everything this construct saw and heard, as if she was really there.

As she saw Sinestro get back on his feet and aim his ring at her along with his two subordinates, she felt a thrill but no fear. She simply willed the Green Lantern energy projectors to stop for a moment and allowed the yellow energy constructs to pass harmlessly through her hologram.

As the Sinestro Corp members looked at her in astonishment, their constructs fading out, Grace asked, "My turn?" Then she summoned up a stampede of zoo animals that thundered its way around, past, and over the overwhelmed enemy Lanterns.

Feeling that the energy reserves of the defense system was near dry, Grace used a small portion of it to make her hand solid as she strode over and picked Sinestro up by the collar and said, "I'm guessing you're here on behalf of Luthor and his allies in the Light? Well I've got a little message for you to take back to him."

After she whispered her message in his ear so that only he could hear, she attached rockets to the backs of him and his corpsmen which carried them through the corridors and back outside through the hangar.

Then Grace was surrounded by Superboy, Blue Beetle, Cyborg, Batman, Bumblebee and Guardian, all of whom had arrived in time to see the confrontation between her and the Yellow Lanterns, and most of whom were now patting her on the back and calling out her praise. (Only batman didn't join in, although he did seem less suspicious.)

"Hoo boy, now _that's_ what I call 'back-up'!" Bumblebee celebrated.  
"You really showed them a thing or two, girl!" Cyborg congratulated her.  
"I think we may have a new candidate for 'greatest Green Lantern' right here!" Superboy praised her.

The jubilant atmosphere was disrupted by the sudden appearance of Kid Flash who, looking worried, said quickly, "It's not over yet! That Yellow Lantern lady? Looks like she planted a lot of bombs before I found her! A_ lot_ of them!"

As Guardian cried out, "Bombs!?" Grace concentrated on using the station's sensors, the she announced, "I see them. Don't worry guys, I have enough energy left for this."

* * *

Outside Watchtower, Sinestro and his people had managed to regain control long enough to remove the rockets from their backs, then the watched as Watchtower faded from sight as its cloak was reactivated.

"What was up with that Lantern!?" Seer grumped, "None of my attacks even touched her, yet she threw us out of there like it was no problem!"

An unpleasant idea concerning the Lantern in question was forming in Sinestro's head, fueled by the message she gave to him alone to pass on to Luthor. Turning to Seer, Sinestro asked her, "You said you planted and armed the bombs?" When Seer nodded, Sinestro ordered, "Then blow them!"

Seer, startled by Sinestro's ruthless order, argued fretfully, "But Tekik and Sn'Hoj are still in there!"

With a glint of maniacal anger in his eyes, Sinestro grabbed Seer by the collar and yelled, "You think I don't know that!? But I saw Tekik's ring fly past me without its owner, which means he's likely dead! And Sn'Hoj didn't respond to my calls, so he's either dead or captured! Now I won't let these Earthlings get away with this, so _do it!_"

As Seer fingered the button on the detonator, she recited in a tired monotone, "Detonation in 5, 4…"

"Hey!" Snap Trap called out, pointing towards the void where they'd seen Watchtower just moments ago.

Turning to follow Snap Trap's gaze, Sinestro saw rapidly approaching a green bubble containing dozens of small objects: Seer's bombs.

A dumbstruck expression on his face, Sinestro said, "Oh…"

As the bombs exploded, Sinestro and his group barely put their shields in time, but the concussive force from the large explosion combined with the zero gravity of space caused them to be thrown a great distance away, spiraling head over heels out of control. When they got control over themselves again and the ringing in their ears died down, Sinestro spotted one more object flying towards them. As the green energy encapsulating it released the object and briefly formed into the face of the female Lantern to yell, "And stay out!", Sinestro saw that the object being transported was none other than a ringless and angry Sn'Hoj, whose tentacles were coiled and tangled.

"What do we do now, sir" Seer asked.

Sighing, Sinestro ordered, "Take Sn'Hoj back to Qward, we'll figure out what to do about him there. I'll be following along shortly."

As Seer and Snap Trap complied, Sinestro concentrated, preparing for one last communication in this sector.

* * *

"Say. That. Again?" Luthor enunciated, his temper rising.

Luthor knew from the moment that he'd answered the call from Mercy that something had happened because she'd called on the special holographic messaging system he'd developed. He knew it was something not good because he'd impressed upon her that she only use it in the case of the most urgent and/or private of matters. And while it was currently undetectable and untraceable by all currently available methods of tapping developed, it still can be picked up by human eyes and ears (as well as devices that can pick up what the eyes and ears can) and Luthor still had too much to do to chance being caught in a Watergate-like scandal. But in his wildest imaginings, his darkest nightmares, he'd never foresaw anything like what Mercy had just informed him of now.

"I'm sorry sir, but the deletion process was a failure," Mercy repeated herself, "The lab was infiltrated by three superhuman assailants. Two of them were unknown, as they were wearing disguises and using codenames, but since the third was the prototype it is likely that those two were members of the League or of the team that works under them. They managed to download the essence of my original before the deletion could be performed. The entity known as Mercy Graves no longer exists within this vessel."

As Luthor paced back and forth, frustration and agitation building inside of him, Mercy continues, "On the plus side, sir, no new information will be leaked to those who might oppose your plans…"

"Do you think that matters!?" Luthor barked, "She knows too much already! Now she's free to spill all to them unrestrained! I swear that if I didn't still need you over there running LexCorp in my stead…"

Before Luthor could complete that threat, a yellow light-construct hologram of Sinestro appeared beside Mercy's hologram, who inclined his head briefly before starting, "Mr. Luthor, I regret to inform you that the mission was a complete failure."

Failure. Again! Trying to keep his voice under control, Luthor enunciated through his teeth, "What. Happened?"

"My team and I had found the orbital base exposed and vulnerable, just as you had indicated it would be. However, we had met up with unexpected resistance inside: I lost one member in an attempt to recover the information you sent us to get," Sinestro explained, "Still, we might have been able to regroup and complete the objectives were it not for unexpected interference from an associate of yours."

"What was that!?" Luthor piped in, unsure that he'd heard him right.

"This associate, or I should say former-associate, seeing as she's no longer aligned with you but with your enemies, had apparently managed to get the defunct Green Lantern defense systems back online and used them to expel us from the station, as well as to remove the bombs before they could be detonated. She also managed to get the cloaking field back online, so another attempt was not possible even if we were in any shape to make one."

"She?" Luthor growled.

"Yes," Sinestro confirmed, then with a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, he continued, "She looked much like the associate you have with you now, though she appeared somewhat younger. She had a message she wished for me to deliver to you."

With a quick glare at Mercy, Luthor asked, "This message…?"

"She said to tell you, 'The next time we meet, there will be no Mercy!' " Sinestro stated. As Luthor's temper reached its boiling point, Sinestro finished, "On behalf of the Sinestro Corp, I feel I must sever my ties with you and the Light at this time. We had aligned with you because we felt that you and yours had the best chance of maintaining order on this world, but it's apparent that you cannot maintain control over your own subordinates. Should in the future your group prove as capable as we originally believed them to be, then we'll consider working with you again at that time. Until then, farewell."

As Sinestro's hologram faded away, Luthor turned his glare towards Mercy. However, her image was also gone, having already discontinued transmission, leaving Luthor to seethe in rage alone.

* * *

Back at Watchtower, Grace was just coming to terms with the fact that they won against incredible odds. Turning towards Cyborg, she said with a huge smile on her face, "Did you see that Victor? We actually did it!" Then she rushed forward to hug him, but wound up running right through him instead. Turning back towards him, Grace said in embarrassment, "Sorry about that, I guess I used the last of the Green Lantern energy stored in the defensive systems to remove the bombs. Without it, this form's just a regular hologram."

"Don't worry about it," Cyborg assured her with a smile of his own, "I'm sure that we can get one of our Lanterns to recharge it as soon as they're able."

As Cyborg turned a meaningful glance at Batman, Bruce nodded and said simply, "It in an invaluable asset, one we may have need of in the near future. Also, you proved rather adept at utilizing it and getting our systems back online."

"Speaking of which," Grace said after a brief pause that appeared that her image was buffering, "I just finished restoring the communication systems, and we already have a huge backlog of calls of people wanting to know what's going on up here and why the Zeta Tubes aren't working."

"I'm on it," Guardian said as he started to head off the communication room, then he paused and asked, "What should I tell them about the tubes?"

After doing some quick calculations, Grace answered, "I'll have one up here online in just 12 minutes, and make sure that they bring up whoever maintains them to repair the damage the Lantern did to the other one, as I cannot perform any physical work in this form."

"Got it!" Guardian said as he continued on his way, Bumblebee catching up to him and perching on his shoulder.

With a quick glance an Megan, Connor said, "We'll just leave you two alone now." After sharing a quick glance with the others, everyone went their separate ways, leaving only Cyborg and Grace standing where they were.

Grace started to go and try hugging Victor again, but then remembered herself and instead placed one hand over her heart and the other one close to his face to where it would have been touching as she said, with tears streaming down her face, "Thank you so much for what you've done, Victor! You have no Idea how much it means to me to be free of that monster!"

Victor placed his hand up to his face, cupping over Grace's, as he said, "Don't sweat it, it was my pleasure. And we'll get you your original body back," Cyborg told Grace in a tone of determination, "You have my word on that."

"Thanks for that, Victor!" Grace said with a smile. Then she grew somber as she dropped both hands to her sides, one hand moving through Victor's, as she added, "But I'm afraid that we may have a higher priority situation to deal with first."

Picking up on her change of tone, Victor asked her, "What is it?"

"As I'm sure you'll remember, you were the prototype of your particular model of cybernetic weaponry." Grace explained, "Were it not for your escape, Luthor might have went into regular production by now. I can't be sure how my escape will affect his timetable, but we can be sure that he'll act soon, with him knowing what I know, and he'll likely begin with the list of volunteers we have lined up."

Horrorstruck, Cyborg breathed, "How many?"

"Hundreds," Grace said just as softly, "Women, children, war heroes, accident and disease victims, all of them looking forward to the second chance of life that Luthor's prosthetics are promising them. None of them aware that the only live they will have is one of servitude on the frontlines, unwillingly giving their lives in the name of the Light."

End of chapter.


End file.
